


Once Upon Ice and Fire

by Darklordi



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Blood, Drama, F/M, Fantasy, Fire, Ice, Norse Mythology - Freeform, Romance, Storybrooke, Vikings, Violence, Zombies
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-05
Updated: 2019-12-23
Packaged: 2020-04-08 11:40:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 21,987
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19106365
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Darklordi/pseuds/Darklordi
Summary: In the world of fairy tales, the kingdom of Arendelle is in a state of crisis: Lydia, daughter of Anna and Kristoff, was kidnapped by a strange creature coming from the shadows and took her somewhere. Queen Elsa takes the decision to return to the real world to ask help to her friends from Storybrooke.In Storybrooke, a strange wave of incidents worries the population, and moreover, the arrival of a young unknown named Mathias Reyes and seeming to hide a dark secret, complicates the situation. Emma Swan decides to investigate, when she notices that she already met Mathias somewhere, but where and when?The small town of Maine is about to make a discovery that could threaten all the worlds, magical or not, and that Elsa, Mathias and Emma, may well be the only ones able to prevent it. But will they succeed?





	1. Prologue

The elements ..... without them, the worlds would not be what they are, as well as life .... Separated, they are powerful, beautiful, but connected to each other, they can reveal powers beyond all imagination.....

Fire, symbol of the warrior. Solitary, angry, but protective in the depths of him. The others fear him, but respect and admire him.

Ice, symbol of the queen. Beautiful, fair, but so tormented, only seeking to express herself freely. Her natural beauty equals the power she has.

Light, symbol of the savior. Valiant, courageous, perpetually fighting against darkness. In her benevolence, she knows how to guide others to find their way and reveal their true destiny.

Three symbols. Three keys. Three souls. One destiny. One key is hidden in the fire, the second in the ice, and the third in the light. The key of the fire wanders without a real goal, but waiting for the day when it will be found and put back on the way to its true nature. The key of the ice wants to protect those she loves, but she doubts herself, not knowing if she can do it alone. The key to light is the most obvious but also the most complicated. Struggling constantly against the darkness inside her, she must guide others in their mission, while taking care not to lose them, or lose herself.

When the master of the shadows appears, a choice must be made. Three symbols, three keys for a victory, one without the others being able to do nothing.


	2. The Child from the Flames

Enchanted Forest, moments before the first curse is triggered.

The kingdom of the Enchanted Forest had just come out of a period of doubt and darkness. After a fierce fight, Snow White and Prince David had managed to overthrow the Evil Queen, Regina, from his throne, and had regained power. But during the wedding, Regina, far from having said her last word, invited herself to the ceremony and menaced without flinching the lovers and their subjects, proclaiming loudly that she would unleash the most terrible of spells, to finally to get what she wanted: her happy ending and the destruction of Snow White's happiness. Following this, the royal couple went to consult a dangerous wizard, Rumplestilskin, known as the Dark One, who predicted that one day their child would be the one who, at her 28th birthday, would deliver them from this curse. In order to ensure the survival of their child as soon as she came into the world and after a council meeting with their closest allies, Snow White and Prince David, with the help of their carpenter friend Gepetto and his son Pinocchio, made a wardrobe made of wood coming from a tree with magical properties, and according to the words of the blue fairy, could allow a single person to escape the curse.

On this heavy and gloomy night, the kingdom was in a state of alarm. In the forest plunged into darkness, the wind had strengthened, causing the branches to tremble and crack and the leaves to quiver in its wake. Sheltered in her family's castle, Blanche Neige was giving birth to her child, supported by her husband, while the castle was preparing for the offensive of the Evil Queen, from one moment to the other. Already, the first signs of the imminent arrival of the curse were felt. The air became colder and colder, the atmosphere became unhealthy, oppressive, and clouds of hundreds of birds flew away and flew into the sky, terrified by something. Even the moon, usually silver, had a slight scarlet hue tonight. For her part, The Evil Queen, surrounded by her most faithful allies, was jubilant at the idea of finally liberating the spell that would engulf the entire kingdom in its cloud of darkness.

But during this time, in a remote part of the Enchanted Forest, another very disturbing event was taking place. In the midst of what was once a great circle of megaliths now covered by moss and climbing plants, a vortex suddenly opened, tearing the void like paper, and letting out two masculine silhouettes, which advanced from a few steps to the middle of the circle of large sleeping stones, watching all around them as to see if they are alone.

The first was a man of very old appearance, with long white hair falling on his shoulders, wearing a long white beard on a wrinkled face, and a visibly missing eye. He was dressed in a large gray-black tunic with a worn appearance, broad sleeves, and a large, wide-brimmed hat worn over his head. In his right hand, he held a large dark gray scepter, crossed by runes and carrying at its end a very sharp spear point.

The second man was a little taller, younger, with long black hair and a black goatee on his chin. He too was dressed very simply in a beige tunic and a long black cape in the back. He seemed more nervous, looking more around him while the older man remained rather calm, even concentrated and stopped in the middle of the megaliths, watching them for a few moments without really paying more attention.

His eyes rested heavily on what he was holding in his other arm: a baby, a little boy, born just a few hours ago, deeply asleep and wrapped in a worn silk sheet. The old man looked at the child for several seconds, without showing the slightest hint of compassion in his eyes.

_ "Odin, my king ..... Far be it from me to want to challenge you, but ..... Were we really forced to come to such actions?" the dark-haired man said, turning to him after checking that no one else was around. Odin glared at him, almost with a dark look.

_ "I warned them, Njord. They preferred to oppose us rather than take my warnings into account....All I did was to preserve the future of all worlds."

Odin spoke without the slightest remorse in the tone of his voice, which made Njord perplexed, who in turn put his eyes on the baby.

_ "But ..... He's just a child ....."

Odin interrupted him immediately.

_ "You know just like me what he really is. You want to do what is right, my friend, but believe me ..... he is far too dangerous to stay alive."

Awakened by the voices of the two gods, the little boy slowly opened his eyes and began to moan. Odin, however, did nothing to rock and calm him. Njord wanted to insist, but in front of his king he could only wait and watch.

_ "But if we took it with us ... you could raise him as your own son, as you once did with Loki ...."

Odin interrupted him again, rising his tone.

_ "This time it's different! We can't take any risks. I will not allow this to happen. I'm sorry, Njord, but there's no other choice. It's my decision, unless you want to oppose yourself too?" Odin said, almost threatening the other god. Njord made few steps back, and sighed heavily, giving up. Seeing this, Odin leaned over and placed the child on the floor, in the middle of the megaliths, and turned around without looking back, not even when the baby started crying softly.

_ "There are many wolves in this forest. He will not survive for more than an hour. Now, let's go back to Asgard." Odin said as he passed by Njord, who was still staring at the baby, his face contorted with doubt. Seeing that his friend was not moving, Odin turned to him.

_ "Njord, come on."

_ "You know what world it is?" Njord asked him coldly.

_ "Yes, the Enchanted Forest, a world of mortals, so what?" Odin replied, almost irritated by his friend's questions. Njord gave a little fake laugh and turned to his king.

_ "Then you know what should normally happen today, in this world ...... this rumor of a curse ...."

He could not finish his sentence when Odin seized him violently by the collar, bringing his face closer to his and threatening him almost again.

_ "What happens in the mortal worlds does not concern us at all, and even if the wolves don't devour that baby, the curse will take care of it. Now let's go, or I leave you here with him .... Is this clear?"

After a few seconds of hesitation, but not wanting to defy his king and friend, Njord nodded silently, but did not deny himself a disapproving look at Odin. The latter noticed it, but did not take offense, and took his friend by the shoulder.

_ "Believe me, my friend .... One day, you'll thank me for doing that."

Njord was less sure, but said nothing more. A new fault appeared tearing the landscape and opening a new vortex, in which the two gods entered without losing an instant, and once that done, the vortex disappeared without leaving a trace.

Abandoned and alone in the night and cold, the baby was still crying, lying in his silk blanket. His cries finally caught the attention of predators, a pack of five wolves, grey and black, who came forward and dispersed in a circle, roaming around the megaliths, their yellow eyes shining in the dark and emitting hungry rumblings at the sight of this little prey so easy. The alpha wolf was the first to advance in the middle of the stone circle without fear. The predator was standing right in front of the baby, looking at him voraciously, his jaws salivating and his bright yellow eyes at the thought of this new meal. The baby continued to cry more at the sight of this big animal leaning over him and sniffing him with an appetite. As the other wolves approached, the male alpha opened his jaw, preparing to close it on the baby's head.

Suddenly, the entire forest floor was traversed by powerful magical vibrations, causing the wolves to react immediately, raising their heads, ears erect, and all looking in a precise direction. Other vibrations manifested themselves, much more powerful, and triggering an intense fear among the wolves, who squealing or grunting, all fled in the opposite direction, abandoning their prey to his fate. Not knowing what was going on, the baby continued to cry, while around him the wind grew stronger, causing the trees in the forest to tremble and crack, and all surrounding animals to flee in general panic.

From the great mountains to the north of the Forest, Queen Regina had achieved her ends and had unleashed the powerful spell of the curse, one of the darkest and most powerful magics in existence. An opaque, black cloud with violet reflects had formed, growing and spreading more and more at high speed, covering everything in its path and sparing nothing and no one. The Evil Queen's troops stormed the Charming family's castle and managed to penetrate the defences, while Snow White had just given birth to her daughter, Emma. After valiantly defending himself and having succeeded in putting his daughter in the Wardrobe, Prince David had fallen after a wound inflicted, and Snow White had had sufficient strength to join him, while Queen Regina joined them, triumphantly, while the black mantle of the curse surrounded and gradually covered the castle.

Meanwhile, in the forest, the black cloud would soon reach the circle of megaliths, and the baby, still crying and unveiling under his silk blanket, his right hand, wearing a strange scar in his flesh, skull-shaped in flames. As he cried, and without his knowledge, the scar suddenly began to shine with a glowing glow and small embers began to form, then forming small flames gradually surrounding the baby, without burning or hurting him. The cloud of the curse then fell on the circle of megaliths, enveloping it, as well as the baby and its small circle of flames.....

*************

Our World, New York City

02:00AM, local hour

What had to be an ordinary night in the Manhattan area had turned into a tragedy when the small building of a computer manufacturing chain caught fire as a result of a powerful and violent explosion suddenly triggered from the basement of the building. The first witnesses, completely panicked, told the police already on site that a torrent of flames had literally crossed the building from top to bottom, completely devastating it. As the crowd gathered at a safe distance to contemplate the disaster, firefighters were able to get inside to rescue any survivors of the night shift in the building. Fearing a terrorist attack, the military forces were also called and deployed in the area.

Inside, as hell raged, devouring the corridors and rooms one by one, the group of firemen, all wearing gas masks, managed to rescue two vanished guards, but the other members of the night shift were unfortunately dead in the blast.

_ "We must get out of here, it'll collapse!" yelled a firefighter, looking towards the ceiling, cracking more and more under the pressure of the flames. As they were leaving, one of the firemen, a thirty-year-old volunteer, suddenly stopped. He turned around, listening in spite of the din around him. His heart rose. He heard crying from the bottom of the stairs leading to the basement ... Baby crying! Without hesitation, he rushed down the stairs at full speed, under the gaze of his teammates, dumbfounded.

_ "Thomas, god damn it, come back here!!" the team leader shouted as he ran after him, signalling to the other members of the team to leave the building immediately with the wounded. The firefighter Thomas had not heard and quickly descended the stairs, to arrive in the large basement where were hundreds of boxes and boxes. The place was also completely ravaged by the flames, forming real impenetrable walls on the walls and on the ceiling. One end of the ceiling collapsed, almost failing to crush Thomas, who with his reflexes, could avoid the worst and continued to advance, protecting himself as he can against the heat and hell fumes more and more thick. The baby's crying was getting closer and closer, he could hear it, as his heart pounding in his chest.

Making his way to the bottom of the basement, Thomas came across a vision that left him speechless. In the middle of the room invaded by flames and smoke, a little baby lay on the floor in a silk blanket and cried loudly. What struck Thomas was that the flames had almost formed like a cage around the baby, but had not approached him.

_ "My god ....." Thomas murmured in his gas mask.

The fireman approached all the same and managed to pass the flames to take the baby in his arms, with great precaution. He noticed the strange scar on the child's right hand, but did not pay more attention to it, seeing that the ceiling was about to fall. A strong hand grabbed Thomas by the shoulder from behind and turned him back by force. Thomas was surprised to see his squad leader.

_ "Thomas, but what the fuck are you....?!" the chief began to yell, but was quickly speechless when he saw the baby in the arms of his partner. Debris falling from the ceiling around them, however, brought them back to the emergency very quickly.

_ "No time to explain! We must go, now!" said Thomas eagerly. The two firemen fled without waiting from the basement, and managed to escape from the building on fire, one of them carrying the child, this one having no injury or burn.

Without losing a moment, Thomas took the baby to the nearest ambulance, to make a diagnosis of the baby's health, who had stopped crying and was suddenly much calmer, and even made a little smile to the firefighter. While a doctor was examining the foundling, Thomas had to remove his gas mask, his face covered with dirt, and breathing with great difficulty, had to sit a few moments. His rest was short when the powerful hand of his team leader hit him in the back of the head.

_ "Are you completely crazy, Thomas?" his leader told him, reprimanding him severely "Undo the formation of the team! We could all have been killed by your fault!"

While acknowledging that he had seriously compromised the safety of the team, Thomas did not blame himself for having also done his duty as a firefighter.

_ "I have no excuse, Chief." he said simply, "But as a fireman, I could not let this child die."

The chief sighed, rubbing his eyes nervously.

_ "I understand you, but you must also remember that the survival of a team depends on all its members ...... Do this again, and I swear I'll get you fired!"

The chief had raised his voice, but showed more concern than real anger. Thomas knew him well. Sighing heavily again, the leader went off to join his other men, but as he passed Thomas, gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder.

_ "Other than that, you acted well." the leader simply said, moving away without turning around. Thomas smiled slightly, then turned to the doctor who was walking towards him.

_"How is he?" Thomas asked, very concerned.

_ "Well ..." the doctor answered, removing his glasses "... This baby is in perfect health. No injury, no serious or slight burns, and no breathing difficulties, even after spending so much time in the middle of the fire..... this baby is a real lucky one."

_"Thank you Doctor." Thomas says, reassured to hear that. The doctor left him, while Thomas remained perplexed, however thoughtful, looking at the baby, who took in charge by the paramedics, gave one last innocent look at the firefighter, and a small smile. Thomas remained pensive, then turned his gaze to the burning building.

_ "I don't think it was just luck ..... it was more than that ...."


	3. The Kidnapping

Our World, Boston, Massachusetts

30 years later....

Mathias painfully opened his eyes after having managed to sleep for a few hours, despite the discomfort of the crappy berth on which he was lying. Echoes of loud and angry voices were heard in the corridor, as well as noises of struggle and blows, quickly covered by whistles of alertness and the equally strong voices of the guards arriving. Two inmates fighting, again. Mathias did not worry about it any more, as fights were common here, and he himself was involved in some of them, to the point of sending another inmate to the hospital, in critical condition, after almost broke his neck with a chair blow.

Rubbing his eyes and scratching his neck, Mathias got up and sat on his bunk, slowly emerging from his sleep. Around him, the same four immaculate white walls forming his fucking cell, lit by a simple little neon on the ceiling. A cell consisting of a single berth, a small metal sink, and toilets almost all down time. 2 years ..... 2 years he had spent in this damn Boston prison, for attempted burglary. It was not the first time that he had to deal with the police, but it was the first time he had been in prison.

Mathias stood up softly and went before the sink, to look in the small mirror hanging above. While looking at himself, he still remembered the story of his father, Thomas Reyes, a firefighter, who had found him and rescued him in a building on fire in Manhattan .... Today, he was a man, 1 meter 86, with a thin body, a thin face, blue-green eyes, long brown hair falling on his neck and shoulders, a small mustache and a small goatee on his chin. He was dressed in prisoner attire, a shirt and white pants with black stripes. The gaze of Mathias also rested on his scar in his right hand, but quickly looked away to look again in the mirror and rinsed his face with cold water.

10 years .... It was now 10 years since Thomas and Martha Reyes, his adoptive parents, were dead. Mathias had tried to forget him, but this thought came back to haunt him, again and again, clinging as hard as a bloodthirsty tick. Finishing wiping his face and uncorking his nostrils, Mathias was thoughtful. He had no idea what he would do once he was out. Because yes, today was a special day .... The day of his release. At the same time he was happy to finally leave this place teeming with criminals more violent and stupid than the others, but also less happy to be back in the street, left to himself. Unemployed, homeless, having only a motorcycle, an old harley, and some money in his pockets....Pfff, What a future, he was thinking....

As he was going to sit on his bunk, the small metal hatch on the door of the cell opened, revealing the eyes of a guard who immediately glanced at the detainee.

_ "Registered prisoner No. 666. Face the back wall, on your knees and your hands behind your head." the guard ordered. Mathias obeyed in silence, having the habit and set himself in the required position. The thud and metallic sound of the key opening the lock split his eardrums. Three guards, two of them armed, entered the cell, very suspicious. They knew the temperament of this prisoner. However, wishing to go out as soon as possible, Mathias let himself be handcuffed, and was taken out of his cell, a guard behind each shoulder. Further down the hall, Mathias could briefly see the two prisoners who were fighting savagely, having been mastered by the guards who hastened to handcuff them. One of the prisoners, completely out of control, began to insult them without stopping, until a guard sprayed his face with a tear gas, which made the man scream in pain. Without uttering a word and escorted by the guards, Mathias crossed several large halls of detention, passing in front of the many locked metal doors, and sometimes hearing behind, the blows or screams of madness of some prisoners who had become completely insane after years of imprisonment. Thieves, dealers, rapists, murderers, gang members .... There was everything here, the worst scum that can find in Boston...

In one of the corridors, Mathias crossed the path of another inmate, Liam, a 25-year-old guy with short blond hair, blue eyes and a slender face, with whom he had managed to sympathize. Liam was sentenced to 20 years for attempted murder on his wife who was cheating on him. He had tried to slit her throat with a kitchen knife. Despite his crazy eye and mimicry a little strange, Liam was a rather calm prisoner, never seeking trouble with guards or other inmates.

_ "So, Matt, that's it .... The big day has arrived." Liam said with a smile. "Lucky... By thinking that I still have eighteen years before to get out of this hell ...."

_ "You didn't have to play dumb, that's all." Mathias said, mocking a little Liam, who gave a little crazy giggle. A push from the guard behind him made Mathias move forward. Liam stepped aside to let them pass, and watched them go away.

_ "Enjoy freedom for me, man ...." greeted Liam as he went back to his cell. Count on it, thought Mathias without turning, with a slight smile.

Mathias was brought into the room where all the belongings of the detainees that were confiscated when they arrived at the prison. Standing still straight, the guards behind him, Mathias was watching the man behind a small desk, a little man in glasses, busy looking at the record of the detainee.

_ "Hmmm, ah here we are ... Prisoner No. 666, Mathias Reyes, 30 years old, homeless, jobless, detained for attempted robbery, you confirm?" the little man in glasses asked coldly.

_"Yes I confirm." said Mathias simply, looking forward to finishing it. With these words, the man with glasses got up from the desk after closing the file and went to take a white cardboard box closed with a lid that he put, a little carelessly, on the desk, then the opened.

He first took out several clothes:

_ "A black leather jacket, worn .... Black t-shirt.... Denim pants and black underpants .... black boots .... and leather mittens ...."

After the clothes, he continued to pull out the few objects belonging to Mathias.

_ "A bundle of bills containing exactly 100 dollars ..... A penknife ..... And motorcycle keys."

Mathias was able to recover all his belongings, in the cardboard box which was handed to him. He was taken to a small empty room, where he could finally take off his prisoner clothes, and dressed as he was when he arrived here two years ago. Putting at last his leather jacket, the young man went out, his money, his penknife and his keys in his pocket, to give back the empty box to the room. After having filled out and signed the last forms necessary for the release, Mathias was finally taken to the entrance of the prison, which when they opened, sent a small breeze of fresh air that caressed the face of the young man ... .2 years he did not feel that, what a pleasure, fresh air .... The first thing he saw was the apartment buildings in Boston, forming perfect, straight rows around the streets crowded with cars and sidewalks teeming with people. That would always make Mathias laugh internally. A prison containing murderers and pedophiles, built near homes. The architects of this prison were fucking idiots, he thought.

_ "Go to the prison pound on your right, your bike is there... Come on, and I don't want to see you here anymore." the guard who had escorted him out coldly told, before turning around and returning to the prison. Mathias discreetly gave him a middle finger.

_ "Bye bye, you moron ...." Mathias murmured, heading for the pound.

As planned, the guard in charge of the prison pound, led Mathias to the parking lot where the vehicles owned by the detainees who owned them when they were arrested were kept. Among them was Mathias' old black harley motorcycle. After signing the form giving him the right to pick up his vehicle, Mathias was finally able to start it. The sound of the engine made him smile softly, as did putting his hands on the handlebars.

Clutching the speed, and in the thud, Mathias started rolling out of the parking lot of the pound and now entering the traffic of the road facing the prison. Seeing him coming out of the prison pound, some pedestrians gave him suspicious glances, even contemptuous glances, but he did not care. He was free, now ..... But despite the joy of being able to roll freely again with his motorcycle, to feel the fresh air and not to feel anymore the cold metal of the handcuffs on his wrists, a question was now asked to Mathias ..... What am I going to do now?..... After a few minutes of reflection and while driving his motorcycle, he ends up finding ..... Mathias smiles darkly. He was going to find the person who had sent him to prison, and make her pay for it.

*************

Meanwhile....

Arendelle, Enchanted Forest

Arendelle, the great kingdom of the north, was holding its breath, because a major event was taking place on this calm winter night, colored by the aurora borealis invading the sky and lighting the entire fjord. Anna, the young princess of the kingdom, was at this moment giving birth to her first child. Having been bedridden in her room for hours now, the poor woman struggled with great suffering to get her child out in the best conditions. Screaming in pain, her face covered with sweat, Anna was trying to stay strong, supported by the group of midwives surrounding the bed. Two of them served as moral support, holding the hands of the princess, while another wiped her forehead with a towel. The most experienced midwife stood ready to take the baby out, also supported by three others, just in case.

_ "Breathe well, breathe ....." said the midwife in chief, very focused. Anna blew softly, taking a few seconds to mentally prepare herself.

_ "And ... push!"

In the corridor, Queen Elsa, dressed in her great ice dress, paced slowly and silently, rubbing her hands nervously. Hearing the cries of pain of her sister struggling to give birth gave her shivers of anguish and made her fear the worst. She tried to calm herself, before involuntarily triggering a snowfall in the corridor. The door of the room opened, and a midwife came out, carrying a small basin filled with a little red water. The queen questioned her without delay.

_ "How is she?" Elsa asked, more than worried.

_ "All is well, your majesty. It takes time, but your sister is on the right track. Trust us." The midwife answered him sincerely before leaving, leaving Elsa alone. Of course, she trusted those women who helped her sister, but could not stop this ounce of doubt from continuing. Everything had come so fast .... A few hours ago, Anna was talking quietly with her sister in the big living room, talking about some joyful memories, near a hearty fireplace and with a nice cup of hot chocolate, when suddenly, Anna felt in terrible pain in the stomach, so much so that she dropped her cup and fell on her knees on the carpet ... At that moment, Elsa thought she was going to have a heart attack as the surprise fear had been intense...

As she continued to walk to the right and left while praying for everything to go well, Elsa saw Kristoff arrive by the hallway. The young man, now Anna's husband, showed more than an anxious face. He had gone outside a few minutes ago to try to calm his nerves, unable to bear hearing Anna screaming in pain, but finally decided to come back to Elsa, not wanting to leave the sister of Anna waiting alone and feeling like a coward to leave at such a time.

Anna's yell coming from the room made Kristoff wince with concern, who bit his lip. Elsa came to him to support him.

_ "So? How it's happening?" Kristoff asked, very nervous, without looking away from the door of the room.

_ "Anna is strong, she is struggling with all her might and holding firm." answered Elsa, taking back what the midwife had told her, and saying that also to reassure herself.

_ "And if the baby was ...... or if Anna .....?" Kristoff began to stammer, dominated by worry. Elsa took her hands and tried to calm him down a bit, the nervousness of the young man also beginning to make her stress. Already, some snow flakes had appeared, floating in the air, but Elsa made them disappear immediately.

_ "Kristoff, for Arendelle's sake and for the love you have for my sister, please calm yourself, please. Putting yourself in such a state will only make matters worse, and personally, I don't want to turn this corridor into an ice rink by accident because of you. Alright?"

Elsa made an effort to speak calmly and sighed a big blow. Kristoff says nothing, having understood the message. He went to sit on one of the chairs in the hall, and nervously twiddling his thumbs, looking out the window, to see the dark night, the northern lights dancing in the immensity of the sky, and the few snowflakes come and stick against the window and slowly slide down. At least it was a beautiful night to give birth, it made him smile a little and think for a few seconds about something else.

A cry from Anna, louder than the others, made Kristoff come out of his thoughts and raise his fear even more. Elsa, too, was very worried. Then the cry suddenly stopped, followed a few seconds later, by significant noises of baby crying. Hearing this, the faces of Elsa and Kristoff cleared, smiles on their lips. The door opened and the midwife-in-chief, a woman of almost fifty, came out and smiled, proud of her.

_ "The mother is in perfect health, and so is the baby. Congratulations, Mr. Kristoff. It's a beautiful little girl."

Hearing this, Elsa and Kristoff could not restrain their joy and hugged each other. After the hug, Kristoff was the first to enter, the midwife stepping aside to let them pass. In the room, the other midwives had also withdrawn to the sides. In the canopy bed with the silk sheets, Anna was lying, dressed in her white dressing gown, exhausted, breathing softly, but nevertheless smiling and shedding tears of joy. As they approached, Elsa and Kristoff saw in her arms, wrapped in a little blue blanket, the face of a pretty little baby, emitting little moans and crying. Seeing finally his first child, Kristoff could not stop the tears from flowing too and came to sit with his wife and child, touching Anna's forehead with his hand.

_ "Are you ... alright?" Kristoff asked. Anna smiled at him and gently placed her hand on his cheek.

_ "I could not be happier ..." she replied with her tired voice.

_ "She .... She is so beautiful." Kristoff said, staring at the baby, and coming very gently to touch her little hand, which gently grips Kristoff's finger. Kristoff leaned over to give a little kiss on Anna's lips, while Elsa came over to the other side of the bed and watched all that tenderly. Anna looked at her and invited her to come closer.

_ "Come on, sister ... come say hello to your niece." Anna said. Elsa sits on the bed, also admiring the child with a smile, and with great delicacy, hugged Anna with love.

_ "Congratulations, little sister." said the queen, also shedding her tear of joy. The baby cried again, surely hungry. Anna gave her the breast and the baby began to gently suck. By order of the chief midwife, all the other midwives had left the room, to leave the couple and the queen alone with the child for a little privacy.

_ "Which name did you choose to her?" Kristoff asked.

_ "Lydia." was Anna's answer, who had thought about it. A nice name, which seemed to please the other two too. Lydia of Arendelle, daughter of Anna and Kristoff. To celebrate this birth, Elsa conjured up something she secretly created for the baby. A beautiful silver pendant representing an ice star. The same kind of pendant she had given to Anna as a wedding present. She put the pendant near the baby.

_ "It's beautiful, thank you so much." Anna said, kissing Elsa's cheek. The chief midwife, however, returned to the room.

_ "Forgive me my queen, sir, but the princess and the baby must rest now."

Fully understanding, Elsa and Kristoff, after wishing Anna a good night, left the room, leaving Anna alone, to finally sleep peacefully in that winter night, her child in her arms. In the corridor, Kristoff seemed reluctant to return to his room.

_ "I would at least stay to watch them, I ...."

_ "Come on, come on, don't worry ..." reassured the midwife in chief "...Me and the other midwives are going to watch all night near the room, in case. Your wife and child have nothing to fear."

He wanted to insist, but Elsa's gaze made him give up. As the midwives made their arrangements down the hall, Elsa and Kristoff walked to the back of the hallway to the Queen's room. Seeing that the young man seemed worried, Elsa spoke to him while opening the door of her room.

_ "Kristoff .... this castle is very well kept, and do not forget that I am not an ordinary queen. Anna and Lydia are in perfect security."

_ "I know" sighed the young man rubbing his eyes "..It must be the fatigue that makes me nervous like that .... I'm going to sleep with Sven at the stables, so that he feels not too lonely ... Good night."

_"Good night." Elsa said, seeing Kristoff walking away in the corridor. Elsa closed the door behind her, to find herself alone in her royal room, a large luxurious and very well-appointed room, with a comfortable carpet-covered floor and Arendelle's coat of arms, a large four-poster bed at the back, a large crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling, and large windows giving a magnificent view of the bay, whose water reflected the glow of the northern lights. Now alone, Elsa undid her hair and dropped it on her shoulders. She looked above the chimney to admire the large painted portrait of her father, the late King of Arendelle, the crown on his head and holding the scepter in his hand. Elsa smiles.

_ "You must be so proud of Anna today, father ... and I totally understand you." she said, as if she expected to receive an answer from the painting.

Then, as she walked towards her bed, she began to think about some memories ... A year ago, Elsa had discovered this strange world, and that city, Storybrooke, where she had made the knowledge of new and formidable friends, especially Emma Swan, a woman who also has powers. It was at this time that Anna had mysteriously disappeared, and another woman with ice powers, Ingrid, being the sister of Elsa and Anna's mother, who although she was not really bad, wanted to resort to unsavory methods to get what she wanted. After a long peripethy and finding Anna, Ingrid finally sacrificed her life by finally opening her eyes to what Emma and Elsa were trying to make her understand. After these adventures, Elsa, Anna and Kristoff had returned to Arendelle, and had chased Hans who had managed to seize power in the absence of the queen, but not for very long.....

Elsa smiled as she thought about all this, even though there were bad moments. Stopping in front of her big mirror and looking at herself for a few minutes, Elsa got ready to take off her dress and put on her nightgown and go to bed....

_"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!"

Elsa was paralyzed on the spot and her heart leaped in her chest. It was Anna's voice, in a cry of pure terror. Without losing a second, as if possessed, Elsa rushed out of her room to discover the midwives, all paralyzed with terror in the hallway and looking towards Anna's room. Elsa ran as fast as she could, and saw Kristoff rushing too, coming from the other end. He had heard the cry from the yard.

_"What is happening?!" he asked, grabbing a midwife by the shoulders. The woman could not answer, trembling like a leaf, and could not even look away from what she was seeing. Elsa and Kristoff also looked at the same time, and what they saw amazed them with horror.

In the darkness of the room, at the foot of the large bed, stood a tall figure of two meters tall, entirely black and dressed in a long black ragged tunic, and a hood on the head. Clawed, putrefied hands protruded from the sleeves. Around her neck hung a large chain of rusty metal, and at its end, an old medallion in the shape of a Nordic rune. In the bed, Anna had snuggled, trembling with fear, and holding Lydia in tears in her arms.

The thing turned to look at Elsa and the others, showing a completely dark face, hidden under the hood, and yet showing two terrifying red eyes, shining like lanterns. An intense and macabre cold had spread in the room, as well as a heavy atmosphere. Everyone remained petrified by his supernatural eyes, spreading in the heart of all a fear and an intense melancholy.

_"ANNA!" Elsa wanted to intervene, preparing her hands to send a spell. But the thing, with a simple move of the hand in the air, pushed Elsa and all the others back by a very powerful invisible force. Elsa, Kristoff, and the midwives could not resist and all fell backwards. Elsa was stunned. This creature was able to do magic! Then the door of the room, by magic, was closed by itself by this same force, and locked. Getting up first frantically, Kristoff threw herself against the door to try to open it, while hearing Anna's cries of terror behind.

_ "ANNA! ANNA!!" Kristoff was screaming, trying to open, unsuccessfully.

_ "Kristoff, move!" ordered Elsa. He did so, and the queen, stretching her hands forward, began to try to break the lock with an ice spell. In the bedroom, Anna had curled up as far as she could in the bed, holding her daughter in tears tightly, as the creature slowly, but surely, moved towards them, giving the illusion of sliding slowly on the ground as a ghost. Anna trembled in all her limbs, the red eyes of the thing staring at hers with terrifying intensity. Once only three meters from the bed, the creature slowly rose her hand. Anna then felt an invisible force and an overwhelming force pull her child out of her arms, without her being able to hold her back. Horrified, Anna saw Lydia, still crying, levitating in the air and coming into the arms of the thing.

_ "NO, PLEASE, NOT MY BABY! LYDIA!!" Anna screamed, tears in her eyes, but still too weak to be able to get up, and fell from her bed on the carpet in trying to get up. Finally, the door gave way under Elsa's ice powers and Kristoff was able to open it by giving a big shoulder-stroke, which almost made the door go out of its hinges. He was immediately followed by the queen.

_ "ELSA! KRISTOFF!!" Anna screamed at them in desperation. At the sight of the creature holding his crying child in her clawed arms, Kristoff thought he was going mad with anger. Ignoring the fear, he rushed to the creature.

_ "Release our daughter, you monster!!" shouted Kristoff angrily. But with a simple wave of the head, the thing triggered again this invisible force, pushing Kristoff several meters back and making him hit the wall. Seeing this, Elsa stepped forward too, too, showing a darker, more closed face, and stretching her hands forward, spurred a torrent of ice at the creature. But it is with amazement that Elsa saw the creature turn into a thick, floating black cloud, avoiding the queen's spell, and flew at full speed as she passed through one of the windows, breaking it, and taking Lydia with her, whose cries continued to resound in the air.

_ "LYDIAAAA!!" Anna cried with all her strength, desperately reaching her hand as her daughter was carried away by this monster. Kristoff had got up, suffering a little in the back of the head, but had rushed to his wife to help her. Elsa advanced to the broken window, voiceless and helpless, contemplating this thing that was gradually disappearing into the sky, just as the tears of Lydia gradually evaporated into the air.


	4. Destination Storybrooke

Storybrooke, Maine, Our World

Since the defeat of Hades and the return from the Underworld, and having saved Killian Jones from his dark fate, the small town of Storybrooke had managed to find times of peace and tranquility. In the small town of Maine, each inhabitant went about their usual business, by this new day beginning with this gray and covered winter morning, with a small cold wind caressing the faces and body, but not announcing snowfall, for the moment.

Emma Swan arrived in her little yellow car and parked on a sidewalk near the bus stop. Henry was sitting next to her, dressed warmly and his school bag on his knees, ready to face this new day of classes, which would seem to him monotonous compared to the adventures he had experienced. For Emma, these times of peace were for her an opportunity to rest a little. She was still doing her sheriff job in the city, alongside her father David, who occasionally helped him with some business. Unable to manage the role of Mayor, and having her child to take care of, Mary Margaret, Emma's mother, had taken weeks of rest and stayed at home to take care of the baby, sometimes receiving help from Belle who was always happy to help. Regina Mills had taken over the role of Mayor, the others now knowing they could trust her.

Henry kissed Emma's cheek, thanking her for taking him to the bus stop, but as he opened the door of the car, noticed that his mother looked pensive, seeing her looking in front of her without really see.

_ "You still think about these strange incidents of these last days, is not it?" asked the boy. Emma seemed to come out of his thoughts, and rubbed his eyes, blowing with fatigue.

_ "A sheriff is not supposed to talk about his investigations to civilians, but yes. There is still not the slightest clue about who was able to commit these acts, and it really starts to worry me."

There was fatigue but also frustration in Emma's voice, and Henry suggested something to her.

_ "I could help you investigate if you want. It would be a new operation...."

_ "Henry, I don't want you to see these horrors, you understand?!" Emma interrupted him immediately, raising her voice sharply, which surprised Henry at first. Realizing it, Emma calmed down and gently put her hand on her son's cheek, smiling at him.

_ "I'm sorry Henry, but understand me ... This case is far too sordid. You're the most courageous boy I've ever seen, but I would not want you to be traumatized for life by these .... acts .... " Emma was trying to explain to him. Henry touched her hand, smiling at her too and reassuring her.

_ "I understand, Mom, I know you want to protect me. I trust you, you'll succeed in arresting the culprit. You're the savior after all, you're still winning."

Emma was touched by these words and kissed her son's cheek, and watched him leave for the bus that had just arrived and get the other children to go to school. Henry looked over his shoulder, saying goodbye to Emma one last time, and she returned the hand's sign to him from the car. Once the children got up and the bus started to roll, Emma sat back in her car, and looked at the time on her mobile phone. Eight o'clock am. She had not had time to have breakfast, and thought of going to Granny's Diner for something to take something before going to the sheriff's office. Another morning to sorting archives. Great, she thought ironically.

Half an hour later, Emma had gone to Granny's Diner, and came out with a hot coffee in her hand, the warmth comforting her a bit on this winter morning. The snow was strong, covering the sidewalks and the roofs of the houses. It was only the beginning of December though. On her way to the car, Emma said hello to Dr. Archie, holding his dog on a leash and going to his psychiatrist's office. Emma sat in her car, taking a sip of coffee and getting ready to start her day, when suddenly the walkie-talkie at her belt emitted the noise of an emergency. Emma answered immediately, switching on the talkie.

_ "Sheriff Swan, I'm listening."

The voice of her father, David, was heard in response, and he seemed really worried.

_ "Emma, it's David ..... it started again ...."

Emma immediately guessed what he wanted to say and she closed her eyes, sighing heavily and feeling her beating heart. Another horror. She answered nonetheless.

_ "Where, this time?"

_ "Merlin's mansion. I'm waiting for you there."

_"I'm coming very soon." Emma said before hanging up the talkie. Clutching the lampblack to her car, Emma did not lose a second and began to roll at full speed, despite the snow, towards the place indicated.

It took several minutes for the young woman to finally arrive at the Merlin's Manor. On arriving, she immediately saw the police car that David drove on his patrols, parked on the side of the road and the flashing beacons emitting their red and blue glow through the thin layer of fog that had just risen. The manor was located away from the rest of the city, encircled by the forest, and this mist gliding in the air and between the trees made the place really sinister, just like the wind whistling in the branches. Emma saw David advancing on the side and beckoning. She parked her car just behind her father's, and went out without wasting time. Emma was also surprised to see Killian at the scene, alongside David, and he also showed a closed face, see worried. But Emma did not have time to say hello as she should, being pressed by the call of her father.

_ "I did as fast as I could. Where is this?" she asked without delay.

_ "This way." David replied, indicating a direction and motioning for them to follow him. Killian seemed almost reluctant to revisit this horror, but he took on himself and followed them. If a pirate like him was showing such a difficult face, Emma feared the worst. The trio advanced through the mist coat, approaching the gate of the manor. The silhouettes of the barriers surrounding the estate gradually appeared in the half-light, as well as the portal. Suddenly Emma stopped, her face frozen in horror at what she saw. Although he had seen it before, David had to restrain himself from vomiting. On the manor's portal, prominently displayed, had been hung a body, shirtless and dressed in a simple, worn leather loincloth. The corpse had been slashed all over the body, and the bloody cuts formed Nordic runes. The dead man's head had been covered with a deer skull, like a morbid mask. On the barriers around the gate, strange wooden and fabric objects, also forming runes, had been hung, like totems. But the most sordid was the back of the corpse, which had been fully opened, and whose ribs had been extracted, still bound by the flesh, and placed in such sorts as to form bloody wings around the corpse. The blood had flowed abundantly, the usual black portal tinged with dark red color, as well as the ground below. A smell of blood and death had invaded the air, and as for the cases before, no trace of footsteps, nor any other clue around any presence. Putting a handkerchief on her mouth to not breathe the infernal scent of carrion, Emma stepped forward, followed by David and Killian.

Emma examined the body without touching it, and found that it was the same procedure as in previous cases. A blood eagle, a method of violent execution that was once practiced by the Viking tribes, but no one could really know if it was a real method of killing or a simple legend to scare. Now, it seemed that the answer was obvious. It was the fourth case of blood eagle in two weeks. It started at the exit of Storybrooke, then downtown, then in the park, and now here. In order not to trigger a general panic in the city, Emma had to have the bodies removed as soon as possible before too many people see them, especially Henry. She did not want him to see that. The idea that a serial killer could hide in the city made Emma shudder with anguish. Sooner or later, she should warn people if the situation escalates, and that's what she fear.

_ "I've already done things in my life I'm not proud of, but that's beyond anything I could imagine." Killian commented, unable to take his eyes off the corpse. He had almost the impression that the dead man was looking at him through the empty holes of the stag's skull, and it made him shiver with anguish.

_ "Killian and I discovered it like that, and we immediately called you." David said to Emma "... Yet I did a patrol that night to the mansion, and there was nothing at all .... except ...."

Emma turned to him, perplexed, just like Killian.

_ "Except what?"

_ "When I passed the mansion, for a few seconds, I felt the air cool, more than usual ..... There was a gloomy atmosphere, a feel of death ..... I thought dreaming, but I think I heard ghostly, low-pitched echoes, like chants, coming from the depths of the forest .... I checked, but I found nothing...." David was trying to explain clearly what he had felt during the night of his patrol, and he felt chills of terror inside him as he was talking. Emma and Killian looked at each other with the same perplexity, but believed David. After all, why would he lie?

_ "Chants? And what did they say?" Killian asked.

_ "I don't know ...." David answered, shaking his head nonchalantly "... I didn't understand the words, but still, I think it was Old Norse, the original language of the Vikings ...."

It was the first time Emma had heard about songs and echoes in Old Norse in this case. More and more strange and terrifying. The trio recoiled sharply when a bone crunch and tearing of the flesh was heard and one of the ribs broke off and fell to the ground. Emma, Killian and David had to look away. Around them, the haze was reinforced, as well as the cold already already present, as well as this atmosphere more and more morbid..... For Emma, it was much more than a simple serial killer.... the black magic was connected to these acts, and that, she feared it above all....

Meanwhile.....

Arendelle, Enchanted Forest

Two weeks had passed since the kidnapping of the young Princess Lydia. Two weeks during which the soldiers of Arendelle, helped by volunteer citizens, had searched through the entire fjord, the forests, the mountains and its surroundings, even going to send patrols throughout the kingdom to find the daughter of Anna. But none of the research brought any answer, and over the course of the failures, Anna and Kristoff gradually lost the hope of seeing their child one day. Anna, usually so optimistic and smiling, had lost her smile, did not sleep and did not eat much, and seeing her like that made Kristoff even more helpless.

After spending an entire night with her escort troop of elite soldiers looking for the third time in the villages around the forest, Elsa had returned, empty-handed again, and after resting a few hours in her royal quarters to make up for sleepless nights, has ordered a meeting with her royal advisers. The queen and the assembly were gathered around a large table of beautifully carved dark wood, in a large room richly decorated, with Arendelle blasons hanging on the walls, and heated by a large marble fireplace in which burned a few logs. On the table was unfolded a large map of the kingdom, and showing its main cities, castles and other locations. One by one, Elsa watched her destinations.

_ "No .... no ..... and no ...." the queen said, one by one eliminating the already searched places, in a voice more and more frustrated "... We searched in all the possible places and as far as we could. I even sent scouts to the borders of Arendelle, but they found nothing ..... " In her momentum of feeling of failure, Elsa struck her fists against the table, making it lightly vibrate and spreading under her palms a thin layer of frost, which surprised the advisers. The advisors, recognizable by their rich coats and capes of blue-gray color and carrying several silver stars as buttons, watched without daring to say a word. Noticing it, Elsa calmed down and managed to control her emotions, removing the freeze from the table.

_ "Forgive me, my lords, but the night has been very long...." said Elsa, sighing, sitting back in her seat at the end of the table, and gently massaging her temple with the tips of her fingers. Despite the few hours of rest, the fatigue was still very present, and only accentuated the nervousness already very heavy in the castle. Moreover, before the council meeting, Elsa had asked Kristoff to announce, unfortunately, the new failure of the research to Anna, and the idea of imagining her little sister moping does not help the young queen to feel better. One of the councilors rose to speak.

_ "Majesty, perhaps we should consider the fact that this kidnapping may be the work of enemy kingdoms."

_ "I agree ..." added another man of the assembly "... The Southern Isles or perhaps Weselton have found another way to tackle Arendelle. It would not be surprising from them."

Elsa had listened to them with great attention, and although this hypothesis may be true, the queen did not seem very convinced.

_ "Given Weselton's and the Southern Isles' deep dislike of magical beings, I don't think it could be them. In addition, this creature did not look like one to obey someone. It acted for her own interest."

The advisors had to recognize this point, but the queen thanked them for their suggestions. Every idea deserved to be heard. Leaning on her seat and her fist on her chin, Elsa was deep in thought. The vision of this ghost creature in Anna's room kept haunting her. And his two red eyes shining like infernal torches, that morbid cold that had invaded the room, and that aura of death that was felt, as if joy and hope were gradually vanishing in the hearts of those who crossed these eyes .... Elsa had a shiver of anguish along her body just thinking about it. In spite of her ice magic, this monster had shown itself to be endowed with much more powerful powers, and mastered them with an even greater dexterity. In addition, Elsa had a curious presentiment. The nights of these last days, she had felt observed by a heavy presence, invisible, but present, she had felt it ....

_ "My queen?"

Elsa emerged from her thoughts, and saw all the eyes fixed on her.

_ "Are you alright, majesty?"

_ "I ... yes ..... We will resume the meeting later, my lords ....." she said, rubbing her eyes and getting up from her seat to head for the exit. The advisors, rather surprised, obeyed and stood up, bowing respectfully as the two guards opened the doors of the council room to let Elsa pass, who walked away into the main hallway without looking back, and always escorted by at least two elite guards. Since this intrusion of the creature into the castle, no member of the royal family of Arendelle was to move alone, in case.

Rather than heading to her room, Elsa went to her sister room. The guard in front of the door saw the queen and after a slight bow, stepped aside to let her in. Beside the door, Elsa could see a silver tray, on which was a plate of untouched food, and a glass of water. Elsa sighed. Anna had not even touched her meal, again. She knocked on the door.

_"Anna? It's me, Elsa."

No answer was heard, but the queen knew that her sister was there and decided to come in anyway.

_ "I would like to be alone with my sister, so stay here." Elsa ordered her guards. They obeyed and stayed in the hallway as Elsa entered and closed the door behind her.

The room was in half-dark, and Anna, dressed in her nightgown, was sitting in front of her window, staring silently and moribundly between the half-open curtains. Elsa felt her throat tighten to see her like this. Since the many failures to find her daughter, Anna had become locked in despair and remained locked up here. She who was usually so full of hope and optimism .... Elsa was heartbroken. By kidnapping Lydia, this creature had managed to break the morale of the most courageous person that Elsa knew, and although no longer physically present, this presence was still felt and still managed to shake hearts and minds from all who had seen it. Her evil aura had to be even more powerful than expected. What could this thing be? 

Anna did not even seem to notice her sister's presence and kept looking outside. Elsa stepped forward and sat down beside her. Anna barely reacting to her when the queen gently took her by the shoulders and gave her a smile to comfort her a little, to show her that she would never be alone. Seeing her, Anna could not restrain her tears and hid her face in her sister's shoulder, crying tears hotly.

_ "I'm pitiful, Elsa ..... My daughter, my poor Lydia is somewhere in the clutches of this thing, and I'm unable to stay strong to try to find her....."

Elsa, very affected to hear her own sister judging herself, hugs her with love to support her.

_ "I forbid you to speak like that about yourself, Anna .... Do you hear me? .... We will find Lydia, even if for that I have to search to the ends of this world, and even beyond ..... I promise you, I'll find your daughter. " Elsa asserted with determination, forcing her sister to look straight at her. Although touched and wanting to believe her sister, Anna did not seem totally convinced and sighed.

_ "But .... We have no track, no clue that would allow us to find this creature ...." Anna said. She was not completely wrong. But after reflection, and a few moments of hesitation quickly dispelled by the urgency of the situation, Elsa had a way to find Lydia and identify this terrifying monster from the shadows ..... The two sisters of Arendelle needed reinforcements, and Elsa knew exactly where to find them. She put her hand on Anna's shoulder, showing him a look glistened with a glimmer of hope.

_ "I think it's time to go back to see our friends from the other world ....... In Storybrooke."

Meanwhile.....

Boston, Massachusetts, Our World

Two weeks ..... it had been two weeks since Mathias was finally released from prison and again enjoyed the sweet feeling of freedom ..... Pfff, what a freedom ..... Two weeks to live again in the street like a tramp, to sleep under a bridge or in abandoned buildings in the most wicked neighborhoods, to have to wash discreetly in a service station with the systems usually used to wash cars ... spend his last money to eat, drink, and also to buy fuel for his old bike. Mathias had also had to buy a mobile phone, and had managed to configure it after very long hours.

In this afternoon, the snow fell heavily on the city of Boston, covering more buildings, sidewalks and streets of a white snow cloak and making the movement of vehicles more difficult, traffic jams being created everywhere. Outside, the people, warmly covered, rushed to return home to take shelter.

Always dressed in his eternal leather jacket and his denim pants, Mathias had taken refuge in a small bar in the city center to warm up, and also for a drink, believing that he had nothing better to do for now. Sitting at the counter, strangely empty, the young man remained thoughtful, silent, sipping his glass of beer calmly, and sometimes glancing neutrally around him. Behind the bar, the bartender whistled softly, cleaning a glass with a rag. At a table, a banal-looking family was talking to each other, and at another table, two bikers were drinking their beers while laughing openly. Above the counter, at a corner of the wall, was a small television, usually broadcasting news or sports games that fans came to watch during competition periods. The screen showed a presenter TV, dressed very neatly, and sitting behind a small desk, holding papers.

\- "Three days ago, Boston's central jail was ravaged by a mysterious fire. The toll was very high: more than 100 inmates and 50 guards would have lost their lives, and over 200 detainees managed to escape ..... "

_ "Hey, you can change channel please, I'm tired to hear this shit!" Mathias asked a little coldly at the bartender, who, though surprised, obeyed and pressed a button on the small television, moving from the news channel to a channel broadcasting music. Mathias took a sip of beer, still marked internally. Three days ago, in a furious desire for vengeance and like being possessed by an uncontrollable rage, he returned to the prison during the night and threw a fireball through the building, causing the fire to take place. On the one hand, he savoured having done so, but also regretted. Looking at his palm, he was thoughtful. This power to create and control fire.... According to his father, he had this power since he was a baby, but didn't know how he got it.... Apart from his parents now dead, nobody was aware of this power, and it was better for him to remain so.... But what worried Mathias even more than this power, was that feeling of anger in him. Sometimes, he felt like a presence other than him in his body, as if another person, a presence composed of rage and hatred haunted him and sometimes sought to take possession of him in his moments of doubts and frustrations, but also in presence of violence and blood....

He remembered that gang of thugs, five years ago, who boasted of assaulting and raping a woman in an alley ... He stuck them and burned them alive, watching them screaming at death while the flames devoured their flesh and their bones .... And he, who had almost seen himself rejoice and laugh at seeing them die .... Other equally disturbing memories came back in his mind, and he preferred to not think about it anymore....

_ "But I'm not dreaming ..... Mathias, is that you?" suddenly made a voice that made the young man react, looking over his shoulder. Another man, the same age as him, had entered the bar and signaled to him, as to an old friend. He was rather tall, stocky, with very short brown hair and a few hairs on his chin. Mathias recognized him immediately, and surprised and pleased at once, shook his hand and then invited him to sit at the bar.

_ "What the fuck are you doing here, Wade? I thought you were still in Iraq." Mathias asked.

_ "We were brought back only a week ago. What a mess it was. I thought that this time I would go home in a meat bag." Wade said while ordering a beer from the bartender. Wade Hills. One of the few friends that Mathias had in his childhood. Wade was from a family with a great military background, and he had wanted to follow in his father's footsteps. Wade smiled at his friend and gave him a big virile pat on the shoulder.

_ "And you, bastard, you've finally got out of jail. I hope it's been a lesson for you." he said, becoming serious again. Mathias nodded. Despite what he had done, Wade had not let him down and remained his friend. In his heart, Mathias felt really ashamed of having committed this fire act on the prison, but he did not dare to confide to Wade....

_ "Don't worry man, the lesson was hard, but it's in my head, believe me."

_"Good. And what are you going to do now?" Wade asked, taking a sip of beer. Mathias did not know what to answer, but while he was going to talk about some phony subjects, he felt his new cell phone vibrate in his pocket. Curious, because waiting for no call, he looked and saw the notification of a message appear. What he saw then made his heart leap in his chest.

Mathias Reyes. I know who you are and what you did. Nice carnage you've done to the prison.

_ "Uh ..... Excuse me, two seconds, Wade ..." Mathias said as he got up from the counter, hiding the message, and walked to the bar's toilets in a hurry, under his friend's gaze, a little puzzled but seeing him walking hastily to the toilet, laughed a little while imagining a very pressing desire. Mathias did not waste time and lock himself up in one of the toilets, and immediately answered this mysterious recipient who seemed to know him.

Who are you and how do you know about my power?

The answer did not wait and was sent a few seconds later, still anonymously.

It doesn't matter, for now. But what I have to show you will surely interest you to the highest degree.

Immediately afterwards, another message was sent, accompanied by the picture of someone, whom Mathias seemed to recognize immediately, his heart leaping again in his chest with force and surprise, and his eyes staggering with astonishment.

This girl who sent you to prison .... I know where she is now....

Mathias's fist clenched until his veins appeared. Clenched teeth, trembling with anger, the young man again felt this anger and this desire for vengeance to invade him little by little, and this invisible, angry presence, lurking in the shadow of his subconscious, was there, waiting to be able to arise and to manifest ... Some incipient flames began to wrap the hand of Mathias, but he managed to control himself and made them disappear, without however the anger is dissipated entirely....

With the photo had also been sent precise coordinates, as well as the name of a state and a place that seemed to be a city that Mathias didn't know: Maine ..... Storybrooke ....


	5. The Price of the Ancient Gods

Arendelle, Enchanted Forest

For several endless hours, Queen Elsa had been riding on her white horse, wearing a large purple cape and a hood over her head over her ice dress. Walking the paths through the pine forests and hills surrounding the fjord, she had ventured into the lands of the kingdom, towards the foot of the mountains of the north, for a very specific purpose. Alone, the wind caressing her cloak and her face was her only companion during this trip.

Elsa now knew that her friends from Storybrooke could help her and her sister to identify this monstrous ghost entity and find Anna's daughter. Only problem, how to access again this other world? The dimensional gates are not very common, and none gate being known in Arendelle, the young queen had decided to rely on someone special, known to everyone in the kingdom, good or bad, depended on the point of view and the rumors.

Arriving finally in the direction of a large grove of trees between two large steep cliffs secluded and isolated from everything, Elsa finally saw what she was looking for: a hut of medium size, made of furs and skins of animals and supported by wood and tanned leather cloth. Not far away were the remains of a campfire, on which were still the animal bones of the last meal made by the occupant of the place. A little anxious and suspicious, Elsa stopped her horse and dismounted in the soft snow. Stepping a few steps with caution, she tried to listen to the slightest sound, but only the wind was heard. She swallowed when she saw the few knick-knacks, made up of bones and skulls of small animals, hanging at the entrance to the hut like totems. A mystical and dark aura was emerging from this place, she felt it, but refused to turn back. Anna was counting on her. A loud croaking made Elsa jump of surprise and fear and when she looked up, she could see dozens of crows, perched on the tree branches all around and almost looking at her.

Deciding to ignore the birds, the young queen took a first step into the tent, whose interior was plunged into a semi darkness. A fire was burning in the center, and a large iron pot was boiling over it, letting out smoke and a smell of wild herbs and strong alcohol. The hut was a real disorder, other trinkets and other objects more or less strange, even ritual, on the ground everywhere, as well as these disturbing totems suspended everywhere by strings. Removing her hood from her head, Elsa took another step inside, looking for the slightest sign of a living presence, but nothing. Although not feeling the cold, she felt chills of anguish, the mystical aura of the place making her uncomfortable.

_"Th... There is someone here?" she asked, still suspicious.

_ "WHO ARE YOU?!" suddenly made a loud male voice right behind her, which made her turn around with surprise and fear. His hand had even covered with frost, ready to cast an ice curse. In front of her stood a man, close to fifty, with a nearly arched back, and a face marked by scars and some sort of painted Nordic runes. He was dressed very modestly, with tanned leather and animal furs on his shoulders, as well as the fur of the head of a reindeer as a headdress. Several pendants and bone necklaces hung around his neck. He looked like a shaman, and somehow he was one. The man stared at Elsa from top to bottom, still showing that air a little crazy, as if his eyes would leap out of his orbits. From where could he have arrived? How could Elsa have not heard him coming? These questions crossed her mind, but she chose not to say it.

_ "I ... I'm Queen Elsa d'Arendelle ..." she said, trying to stay calm and a little more confident "... I'm looking for the one called Druth. Are you Druth?"

Druth. A name that became famous in Arendelle. Druth the hermit. Druth the madman. Druth the wizard. His story had become almost legendary, just like some mythological creatures. Some people said that he was already there long before the foundation of the kingdom, others think he is the son of a god, or a demon, the versions are many and varied. At the mention of this name, the man showed a smile almost as crazy as his eyes, emitting a slight laugh. Elsa was suspicious, keeping a distance between herself and him.

_ "Maybe I am, or maybe not. Druth is everywhere and nowhere. After all, we all have a Druth hidden in us, just waiting to wake up...." Druth spoke in a voice that was both dark and calm, speaking almost in riddles, which gave Elsa another shudder. Druth walked to his steaming pot, sniffing the smell of wild herbs and alcohol with interest. Elsa saw him grab a dried raven's head and drop it into the pot's mixture. The queen swallowed with disgust as the man went to sit on an old moldy strain acting as a chair.

_ "And why does the queen herself come to visit an old fool like me? What could I bring you?"

_ "I'm here about my sister, Anna, her daughter was kidnapped ...."

_ "I know it." interrupted Druth suddenly. Elsa was perplexed.

_ "You knew it?" she asked, even more suspicious than before. Seeing her react like this, Druth made another little laugh.

_ "I saw it, in the future." he said with a big smile.

_ "And why didn't you come to warn us ?!" Elsa asked, raising her voice. Druth was not at all intimidated, on the contrary, he chuckled again.

_ "Did someone ever believed Druth's words once? And even if you believe me, the future is uncertain, always in motion, and impossible to predict with precision. I only saw what the gods showed me, nothing else."

A violent gale of wind rose, shaking the tent and sending the clouds of crows flying outside. Elsa, surprised again, tried to stay calm while Druth had not reacted at all, continuing to look at the young queen straight in the eyes, without blinking his own. Again, he showed his blackened and damaged teeth in another of his unhealthy smiles.

_ "Do you feel it, my dear queen? They are there.... the gods watch us, listen to us ... No one can hide intentions or secrets to them....... What do you want? Don't be shy... I listen to you, as they do." Druth invited him to speak in a friendly but somewhat uncomfortable tone. Elsa approached, still suspicious, and sat on the other tree stump in front of the man, seeing his face and gaze fixed on her through the smoke from the pot and the glow of the flames.

_ "I have to go to another world, in a little town called Storybrooke. My friends over there can help me find my sister's daughter, I know it." Elsa explained, nervously rubbing the backs of her hands. Druth had been listening attentively and seemed to be nodding very softly. Showing a half smile, he took a kind of goat-skin gourd in his hand, and took a sip of a wine-like liquid, but that seemed much stronger and less good.

_ "Traveling from one world to another is more than risky. Druth can do it, but as an old friend told me so many years ago: magic always has a price."

_ "And I'm willing to pay for it, if it can allow Anna and Kristoff to find their child." Elsa firmly said with the utmost conviction. Druth believed her without a problem and seemed almost amused, patting on his knees with enthusiasm. He got up from his stump and started looking for something in the mess at the bottom of his hut. Elsa watched him, and concealed under his cloak, had prepared an ice spell in her hand, ready to use it at the slightest aggressive sign of this man. Druth's madness reputation seemed well founded, but this man's supernatural and magical exploits may have been Elsa's only hope of reaching Storybrooke as quickly as possible.

After searching for several minutes, Druth came to sit down again in front of the young queen, and held in his hand a knife made from a very sharp flint. Elsa swallowed again, even less reassured.

_ "Then the price will be ..... your blood, majesty." said the man, smiling. Elsa stared at him anxiously.

_ "M .... My blood?"

_ "Not all your blood, don't worry, a simple cut will suffice." he said to reassure her and handed her the knife. Although hesitant at first, Elsa blew and took the knife in her hand. I'm doing it for Anna, she told herself inwardly, and having said that she would do anything to help her sister. Clenching her teeth, Elsa brought the tip of the knife to her palm and slashed the skin slightly. The pain was sharp and present, and a thin stream of blood began to flow. Druth, meanwhile, had taken a small bowl of terra-cotta and held it under Elsa's hand, watching the drops of blood fall into the bowl.

_ "Nine ..... ten .... eleven ..... and twelve, that should be enough." Druth said, looking intently at the bowl, eyes glistening with lust and laughing softly, while Elsa was laying the knife and with her power, closed the small cut with a fine touch of gel, and clenched her teeth because of the still pain present.

_ "And what do you intend to do with my blood?" Elsa asked.

_ "A wizard never reveals his secrets, but let's say that royal blood has powerful affinities with magic, and yours even more, if you know what I mean." Druth replied, going to set the bowl down very carefully. Elsa got up then, determined to get her due.

_ "You got what you wanted, so now give me what I want." she demanded. Druth smiled at her, and keeping his word, motioned for her to follow him outside the tent, which she did, but always staying some distance away. Outside, the wind was still blowing a little, and the brightness of the day had strangely fallen, as if the night was already falling, when it was only the beginning of the afternoon. Very strange. Elsa saw Druth begin to walk towards the grove of tall pines, and almost disappearing behind the first branches.

_ "Follow me, majesty." he said, motioning for her to follow him. She did so, but still keeping a good distance between herself and the wizard, still wary of him. She watched him carefully during the walk. A few times, Druth seemed to stop, to pick up or pick things off the floor or in the pine branches. Surely ingredients for his strange concoctions which only he had the secret. It was said that Druth was able to create real miraculous remedies, but also to design the deadliest and most destructive of poisons, from simple plants. As they advanced, the light became more and more absent, and the pines almost gave the impression of tightening themselves like a giant plant cage. A very heavy aura was felt in the air, making the queen a little more uncomfortable.

Finally, Druth brushed the thick branches of a fir tree, revealing behind a small clearing of grass surrounded by trees. But what caught Elsa's eye was this strange rock formation standing in the middle of this clearing. The very precise form indicated that this thing was not natural, but had been shaped by the hand of humans, or perhaps something else. The thing in question resembled a stone altar, pretty damaged by time and half covered by snow. Druth approached it without hesitation and with his hand removed the snow to reveal the surface of the altar. The rock was covered by a multitude of symbols, which Elsa recognized as the language of the Viking tribes who lived here long before the foundation of the kingdom of Arendelle. She had already seen this writing, in old manuscripts stored in the royal library. Elsa also remembered when she was a little girl, with her sister Anna, both of them sometimes listened to their father's stories, about these Viking people, who according to legends, built such altars all over the land, to honor the deities. Other legends even claimed that these altars were in reality doors leading to other worlds. Elsa shuddered. The heavy and dark aura was even stronger as she approached the altar. She rubbed her shoulders gently, while Druth, fascinated and chuckling, continued to inspect the ancient artifact, feeling it with his hands.

_ "Yes, yes, that's it," he repeated with morbid enthusiasm.

_ "What is this?" Elsa asked, staying a little behind. Druth turned to her, smiling. He did not answer right away, taking his knife from his belt and holding it firmly. Seeing him doing, Elsa moved back, her hands clenching and covering themselves with a thin layer of frost, ready to cast a spell.

_ "You always have to pay the price that magic demands ..." Druth replied, turning to the altar "... that is the will of the gods .... You gave your blood, and now mine must be paid back!"

And on those words worthy of a fanatic in a trance, Druth, in a sudden movement, cut off one of his hands with the knife, with a clear and precise blow, letting out a loud cry of pain. Elsa took a step back, horrified, her eyes wide and both hands in front of her mouth. Although suffering a lot, Druth continued to sneer like crazy, bringing his bloody wrist to the top of the altar and letting his blood spill onto the stone, his severed hand lying at his feet in the snow. Elsa could not believe it. She thought to run away, but she was paralyzed by this horror.

The blood flowed in large quantities on the altar. Then, after a few seconds, the amazement came to mix with the horror felt by Elsa. Druth's blood began to move with self-will, flowing down the rock and gradually covering the Viking symbols. Another pool of blood flowed out of the altar, sliding over the snow for a few feet, and formed, under Elsa's stunned eyes, a tall, rectangular figure, which revealed itself a few seconds later as a doorway, very ancient, also marked with a large Norse symbol.

_ "Only those whose blood is shed, may be granted the right to pass on the other side." Druth said, his face sweating with pain, but still so enjoyable, despite his blood still flowing from his wound. Sacrificial magic, demanding the blood and flesh of someone. What horror! Were the gods of the Vikings as ruthless as the legends said? Elsa stared at Druth with an even more worried, terrified look. How could he not scream at death or faint from pain with this wound? She shuddered more. With his only hand still present, the old shaman invited the queen to advance towards the door. Although very hesitant at first, Elsa was motivating herself, thinking that she was doing it for her sister who was counting on her. Elsa stepped into the snow, standing right in front of the big door wood.

_ "Druth, I ..." she said, looking over her shoulder, but stopped quickly, shocked. Druth was no longer there, as if he had never been. His cut hand and blood on the altar were all gone. With a beating heart, Elsa looked all around her, seeing only the worrying trees all around her. A wind crossed the clearing, as well as the croaking of several crows. Elsa called Druth's name several times, but received no answer. Although he disappeared, the door was still there, real while the queen came to touch the wood with her palm. Elsa was more than puzzled, and even scared enough. Are the legends surrounding Druth really true? Who or what could he be? Just thinking about it confused her mind.

Elsa stood for long seconds staring at the door born from Druth's blood, changing her mind several times between opening it or go back. No, she should not let doubt and fear dominate her. Her hand trembling slightly, she lowered the wrist of iron, making the wood of the door creak open, and revealing behind her a distorted and ethereal corridor, like the one she entered with Anna and Kristoff when they returned in Arendelle after their adventure in Storybrooke.

Blowing a blow, Elsa was about to enter, but suddenly a feeling of doubt came over her and forced her to turn around. Her gaze was toward the trees in front of her. For a moment, she had felt as if a presence was watching him, hidden in the darkness of the trees. Yet there was no movement, no presence of life. Although suspicious, Elsa decided to walk through the door, which slowly closed behind her, while well hidden in the shadows of the trees, a form moved slightly, emitting a low, monstrous growl.


	6. Veil of Mist

Somewhere in the Maine, our world

Mathias had traveled a long time since Boston, and after spending all day riding on his motorcycle, decided to stop for one night in a small motel on the roadside. The place was rather isolated in the middle of nowhere, close to a big pine forest. But before the cool weather, the emerging dusk and the fine haze rising in the area, Mathias told himself he was not going to do the difficult. After all, he had already known far worse than that.  
Taking his travel bag over his shoulder after parking his motorcycle in the small, almost deserted parking lot, he made his way to the entrance and pushed open the door, twisting the little bell above.  
Although of very traditional aspect, it reigned a pleasant heat in the building that Mathias welcomed with welcome. Without further ado, he walked to the small carved wooden counter on the right, or behind was a woman in her fifties, busy writing accounts on a big book. By seeing the many keys that hung behind her on the shelf, there were not many clients that night. All the better, he told himself.  
_ "A room I bet, young man?" the receptionist asked in a cold tone, barely looking up from her book.  
_ "No, I'm coming to dance taps, it's obvious, no?" replied Mathias in a falsely amused voice. Hearing this, the woman looked up at him and sighed while turning to the shelf.  
_ "I see I'm dealing with a joker." she said without a smile.  
_ "Yeah, excuse me, I ate a clown this morning." added Mathias, desiring only one thing: to go to sleep a little. The receptionist did not insist any more and made him sign his name in the register, as the procedure required, before handing him the key to his room. But before leaving, Mathias unfolded a small map of the Maine that he had obtained at a service station and showed it to the woman.  
_ "By the way, do you know where I could find the town of Storybrooke? I'm completely lost and can't find it on this map."  
_ "Storybrooke? Never heard about that." the receptionist answered raising an eyebrow "... you should sleep a little, you seem to need it."  
With that, she resumed her work, leaving Mathias completely perplexed.  
The young man joined his room, medium size and relatively comfortable, with a TV and a tiny bathroom. The only window adorned with red curtains gave a view of the street and the parking lot, lit by streetlights. The rain continued to fall outside and seemed to have intensified.   
Mathias closed the curtains so that he did not have to bear the sight of the rain sliding on the windows and went to sit on the bed, passing his hand over his face, blowing with fatigue but also annoyance.  
Everyone he had told Storybrooke about asking for his whereabouts had never heard of it and thought he was crazy. How was it that nobody knew the existence of this city? Mathias was completely overwhelmed.  
Taking the mobile phone out of his pocket, he looked again at the messages sent by this unknown addressee, as well as the photo that had been sent to him .... this photo depicted a young woman with blond hair wearing a red leather jacket, crossing a street beside a boy with the look of schoolboy and whose she held by the hand ... a name had been sent with the name of the city ... that of this woman ... Emma Swan.  
_ "I'll find you ..." murmured Mathias gloomily at the picture, causing a small flame in his other hand.

**********   
Storybrooke, our world

Completely overwhelmed by this wave of murder, as sordid as mysterious, Emma had summoned a small meeting at her home, with her parents and Killian. All gathered around the table in the dining room, they watched Emma pacing, her face thoughtful and nervous. David stared, arms folded, while Killian took a sip of his pirate flask. Mary Margaret held her son, Prince Neal, in his arms and rocked him very gently.  
_ "Four murders in not even a month, and still no clue, or even a suspect. I don't know who this killer is, but he or she uses magic, that's for sure." Emma commented, turning to the others.  
_ "It would not even surprise me that Rumplestiltskin is behind all that. This monster knows better than anyone how to kill and erase his tracks with magic." Killian said with some conviction.  
_"It's too easy." David answered, not really convinced. "And Gold promised Belle that he would become someone better, and I don't see why he would take the risk of breaking the last chance he has with her."  
_ "And besides, I called Belle few hours ago." Mary Margaret added, going to put Neal in his cradle for his nap. "She assured me that she and Gold were spending the whole evening together when the murder happened."  
Killian had to admit that he had been quick to charge but still harboring resentment towards his old enemy.  
_ "Or, do you think it might be Regina? After all, she's a specialist in dark magic too." proposed Killian, who then received surprised looks from everyone.  
_ "Hush!" Emma motioned her to be quiet, looking over her shoulder at the stairs leading upstairs. "Henry is doing his homework up there, he's going to hear you."  
_ "And it's impossible..." Mary Margaret added "...and even though she's done bad things in the past, Regina has changed, and we trust her... more than anything, Henry trusts her, and she would never break this."  
_ "Well, in this case, how is it that for weeks now she has been locked herself in her mausoleum, and not wanting to talk to anyone?" added Killian, who was right. The others looked at each other in silence, allowing themselves a few seconds of doubt, but refused to accuse Regina too quickly, on the pretext that she had been the Evil Queen.  
After a few seconds of hesitation, Emma took her red jacket in her hand.  
_ "Okay, I'll go to Gold's shop and ask him a few questions, then I'll go to Regina. Somehow I'll have the key of this story."  
_"I am coming with you." David offered, but Emma politely refused.  
_ "No, I'll be fine, I assure you, but you and Killian should go on patrol again in the forest, hoping you will not find any more corpses."  
David seemed reluctant, but gently watered, as did Killian, who received a kiss from Emma before she left. David kissed Mary Margaret who was going to stay here to watch over her child and Henry.  
_"Be careful." she said with some anxiety.  
_"Always." David replied with a smile.  
Emma, David and Killian left the house, leaving Mary and Neal alone. However, hiding on the stairs, Henry had heard the conversation and showed a concerned face. Deep down, he hoped that Regina had nothing to do with these murders. He refused to believe it, but wanted to be sure of it. Although Emma ordered him to stay out of this affair, he refused to sit idly by and decided to escape by the window, to go see Regina by himself.

**********  
Arendelle, Enchanted Forest

After days of being locked up in the castle and crying for days, Anna decided to act in her turn, knowing that her sister Elsa had gone to Storybrooke to ask for Emma's help. The young princess of Arendelle, dressed in her winter dress, her purple cape protecting her from the cold, was now on her horse, taking a leisurely pace through the pine forest asleep at the beginning of this graying morning. Kristoff accompanied him, riding Sven and walking beside Anna's horse.  
_ "Anna, are you sure it's a good idea?" Kristoff asked, a little worried.  
_ "Yes." sighed Anna. "Grand Pabbie is the only one who can give me answers about the kidnapper of our child and what we saw."  
_ "Do you want him to search your memory?" said Kristoff, not really happy with this idea. Anna nodded slowly, having no other options in her mind and being ready to do anything to find out more, if it allows her to find Lydia. Kristoff, while trusting Pabbie, did not really like when magic came in, knowing the risks that included.  
After a while, the couple finally arrived in sight of the hidden valley of the trolls, far in the northern hills in the middle of the great forest. Anna and Kristoff descended from their horses and headed for the center of the small rocky valley, seeing the many round rocks standing motionless everywhere.  
_ "Grand Pabbie, it's me, Anna." called the young princess. One of the rocks shook slightly and began to roll in their direction. The old troll left his rock form to reveal himself to them, stretching his arms and yawning slightly to escape his torpor.  
_ "Princess Anna? Kristoff? I hope you do not come to tell me that you want to cancel your marriage." Pabbie said at first worried. Anna and Kristoff cast the same cautious gaze.  
_ "No, no, rest assured, we are here for something much more serious." announced Anna. "We are here about our child, Lydia."  
Anna spoke in a sad voice, her throat tied with worry. Kristoff took her hand, supporting her morally.  
_ "Yes, I learned what happened, and believe me, I'm really sorry." the troll told them sincerely. "But what do you want I do?"  
Anna stepped forward and knelt beside him.  
_ "I've seen the kidnapper, and I want you to use your magic to probe my memory to find out the true nature of this creature, can you?"  
Pabbie seemed a little puzzled by this request and met Kristoff's reserved gaze on this idea.   
_ "Anna, believe me, I want as much as you find our child, but I don't think magic is the solution." Kristoff insisted on coming to his wife. Anna sighed, looking him in the eyes and not seeming to agree with him, before resuming her discussion with Pabbie.  
_ "Can you, yes or no?" she asked, in a rather insistent voice.  
_ "I could, yes." Pabbie answered without enthusiasm. "But I have to warn you: the truth could be more destructive than revealing. Magic has always a price, it is known."  
_ "I'm ready to pay the price." said the princess of Arendelle, determined.  
Faced with the princess's growing insistence, Pabbie reluctantly obeyed. Asking Anna to close her eyes and focus on her memories, he placed his stone hand on her forehead, closing his eyelids to focus his power. Kristoff stayed with his wife, watching her with great concern, praying that everything went well.  
After a few minutes, Pabbie managed to get into Anna's mind, seeing what she had seen, on that terrible night ... the tall, dark, hooded form standing in the middle of the room plunged into darkness ... Anna, screaming in terror and holding her daughter in her arms ... The entity advancing its putrefied hand towards the princess ... the red and shiny eyes of the thing suddenly turning to Pabbie, as if she were looking at him through the vision ...  
When the thing turned its gaze on him, the old troll was paralyzed on the spot, invaded by a powerful dark force that then showed him terrifying images: a small town with strange buildings, and a name: Storybrooke... an army of undead creatures, humanoids and armed, gradually invading the misty forest and heading towards the same city, under a rain of ash flakes ... Elsa, in this same city, using her powers to fight with despair, alongside other people ... a young man with long brown hair, wearing a black outfit and wearing a long black cape, showing a dark look, sitting at the foot of a giant tree trunk and holding in his hands a burning sword ... The dark form with red eyes, advancing in the middle of a field of red flames, slowly, and preparing to remove her hood to reveal her face ... all of this while hearing echoes of monstrous voices, singing like a ritual song, in old norse language...   
As he was rejected by this force, Pabbie took a few steps back, stopping touching Anna's forehead, who, too, gasped in horror and had to be held by Kristoff to keep her from falling over.  
_ "Hey, Anna, Pabbie, are you okay?" Kristoff asked, more than anxious after seeing that. Panting, Anna caught her breath and nodded in confirmation, which reassured Kristoff. Pabbie, too, came to his senses, but now showed a face more than anxious ... it was fear.  
_ "No ...... it is not possible ..... such an obscure power .... should not even exist anymore..." he said, his voice overwhelmed by this fear real. Anna and Kristoff, seeing him thus, exchanged the same puzzled look.  
_ "Grand Pabbie ... what's going on?" asked the young princess, her voice trembling and feeling deep inside her, the same fear as the old troll. Pabbie looked right at them.  
_ "We must warn Queen Elsa ..... no .... all kingdoms must be warned ..... all of the worlds are in great danger!"

***********   
Storybrooke, our world

After escaping Mary Margaret's apartment without being seen, Henry ran as fast as he could through the streets of the city, without any member of his family seeing him. Passing through the city park, he then crossed the cemetery, running among the tombstones, even passing that of his late father, Neal.  
Finally, he reached Regina's vault, the dark stone building at the end of the cemetery, whose doorway seemed sealed from the inside. Henry gripped the wrist with all his strength and pulled to open it, but impossible. Regina had surely sealed her with a spell, that was her way of doing things. But it's not a protective magic that would stop Henry.  
_ "Mom, open the door! it's me! Henry!"  
No answer was heard for several seconds, but Henry did not give up.  
_ "Please ... I will not move from here until you have opened me! You are locked in there for days! I miss you, I want to see you!! If you need help or talk, I'm here!"  
He waited a few more seconds, but smiled as he heard the rattling of the door latch, and the door opened in a slight creaking sound. Regina appeared, dressed in a black dress with purple hues, and showed a smiling face at the sight of her adopted son, whom she hugged with love.  
_ "Henry, what are you doing here? I thought Emma was taking care of you."  
"She's doing it ..." Henry replied "... but right now she's overwhelmed with these serial murders. She thinks black magic could be tied to it."  
Regina's face darkened and she winced.  
_ "And let me guess: they suspect me to be the culprit is that?" she said in a dark voice.  
_"No no, not at all..." Henry said to dispel the doubt "...Anyway, I know you're innocent, but what Emma and the others think is that with your knowledge of black magic, you could help us learn more about identity of the killer."  
Regina smiled at her son and looked intently to see that no one was in sight, invited Henry to enter the vault and closed the door behind them.  
At first intrigued, Henry followed Regina down the secret stone stairs hidden by the grave of Regina's father, and leading to an underground floor used as a hiding place. Henry was very surprised to see a sort of small laboratory installed, with a large number of vials, glass tubes and a smoking cauldron, as well as many magic spellbooks open to specific pages. The room was in a big mess. Obviously, Regina seemed to be working on something since all these days spent staying locked up here alone.  
_ "Mom, what are you doing here?" Henry asked, raising an eyebrow. Regina sighed heavily and scratched the back of her head.  
_ "Since these waves of murders have begun, I have been feeling a black magic of maddening power, soaking up the atmosphere of the forest, and every night when I looked out, I had a morbid feeling to be observed by something in the night .... an inhuman thing ... "  
_ "And so .... you try to know what it is? That's why you were here .... but why did not you tell us?" Henry asked again.  
_ "Because with my past, you think they would accept to let me do?" Regina replied, "No, it's something I have to do alone."  
_ "No .... you're not alone ..... no more now." Henry said with a determined smile to help his adoptive mother, to which she smiled.

**********   
Meanwhile....

While Emma was going to see Gold and Belle and Mary Margaret had stayed at home, David and Hook had both left on patrol in the forest, hoping to find no more corpses. For safety, they were accompanied by Grumpy and the six other dwarves, all armed with their picks. David had his prince sword on his belt and a pistol. Killian carried his sword, and his hook that he also used to fight sometimes.  
The group had been walking in the forest for several long minutes now and everyone was looking closely around them. The forest, usually calm, was this time charged with a heavy, macabre aura and that veil of mist that always covered it, like a constant bad weather.  
_"Did you heard?" Grumpy said with his suspicious voice. All the others stopped walking and listened.  
_ "No. I don't hear anything at all." answered David.  
_"Exactly." Grumpy said with some trepidation. "Since we entered the forest, not a single bird song, not even the presence of an insect...it's way too quiet."  
Now that he said it was true. The forest had fallen into a dead silence, which was not to reassure the group, who felt their hands tighten on their weapons. Glancing around him, towards the mist all around them, Killian approached David to talk to him.  
_ "I don't like that at all ... we should go back to town." the pirate suggested, not really reassured.  
_ "Where did your adventurous spirit go?" David asked, staring at him.  
_ "It has nothing to do with it, but I prefer to keep my life rather than playing the adventurer." Killian answered with annoyance. As the two men began to get angry at each other, their discussion was interrupted by the sudden echo of noises, like drums, hitting in the fog heavily and echoing through the forest. The dwarves, David and Killian froze, remaining well grouped and looking frantically around them. With the drums, echoes of voices, like very powerful guttural songs, echoed in their turn, in a very old Nordic language. The mist then seemed to intensify as if by magic and a biting cold settled in the forest.  
_ "My god, but what is it?!" Grumpy said, his hand on his pick and shared between fear and anger. The other dwarves with him stood ready to fight, despite very worried faces. David and Killian, side by side, were ready for battle. Sometimes their glances could see some sort of shooting shadows moving in the mist coat to disappear at once, and seeming to turn around them.  
_ "There is something! Get ready!" David warns others, wielding his sword with dexterity and taking a defensive stance.  
_ "Look here!" shouted the shy dwarf, scared to death and pointing to a direction the others were looking at immediately. All froze in horror, their eyes wide, facing what they saw.  
Leaving the veil of fog, about ten meters from them, a human form advanced with a slow step. A height of almost two meters, a human-looking body, dirty and covered with bloody scars or runic symbols traced with a blade. Wearing only a worn gray trouser, dirty brown boots, a bloody deer skull as a head. Was it a mask or his real head? Hard to say. In one of his hands, he held an iron sword, ancient and worn, but nevertheless sharp and covered with a few dried brown marks on the blade.  
The thing was moving toward the group, slowly, but without hesitation, spreading her arms like a move for a duel challenge. David and the others were stunned by the surprise and fear inspired by the vision of this thing. All around, the Nordic songs were intensifying more and more.  
The monster approached, raising his sword to slaughter it violently on Shy, but Grumy intervened, blocking the blade with his pickaxe. The creature made an inhuman grunt, resembling that of a ferocious beast, and grabbed the handle of Grumpy's pickaxe, and under the astonished looks of others, lifted Grumpy like a nothing and threw him away to remove him from his path. Grumpy rolled brutally to the ground several meters away, stunned.  
_ "Grumpy!" shouted the other dwarves. Seeing this, David took his courage and stood in front of the creature, blocking another sword. David felt the bones of his body tremble and stepped back almost a step before the powerful blow. This creature was very strong.  
_ "Killian, go back to Storybrooke and warn Emma!" David shouted, avoiding another attack.  
_ "No way I'll leave you here alone!" said Killian, opposed to the idea.  
_ "Do what I say!" the prince then insisted, rolling on a side to avoid being impaled on the ground by the monster's sword. The other dwarves tried to surround him to hit him with picks, but the monster grunted furiously, making them back in fear.  
Killian, although reluctant, clenched his teeth and started to move away. David gained momentum and managed to pierce the monster's leg. But all were astonished to see the creature, who, though uttering a groan of anger and bleeding, gripped the prince's blade and pulled it out of his leg without hesitation and without feeling the effects of the wound. David remained petrified with fear at this, and could not avoid the violent arm blow the creature gave him, pushing him back and disarming him.  
_"My prince!" Grumpy screamed, coming back to David to help him, while the other dwarves were trying to encircle the creature who was pushing them one by one without difficulty. Shy and Sleepy were hurt by the monster's blows. Grunting, the creature almost seemed to be sending out strange words. Having heard the tumult, Killian turned around, deciding to disobey and pulled out his pistol to fire. The projectile hit the monster in the chest, pushing it back a step, but once again, though bleeding, he was not affected in any way and kept moving, grunting even more rage. Killian remained in shock.  
_ "It's not possible .... this thing is invincible!" he sighed.  
David and the dwarves had retreated and gathered in groups, ready to defend themselves. While the situation seemed lost, the monster was suddenly struck by what appeared to be a projection of ice from the mist. Covered gradually with ice, the monster emitted deafening roars of pain, immobilized and falling on its knees. Once completely covered, the monster's body collapsed in thousands of pieces of ice that melted on the ground into a pool of inert water. The songs and the drums ceased then, and the silence returned little by little.  
More than perplexed, David, Killian and the dwarves came forward to see the facts.  
_"What was that?" Killian asked. Suddenly, light footsteps were heard in the mist and the group again took up positions to fight. Before them, a new form emerged from the mist. A beautiful young woman with silver-blond hair, dressed in a large and elegant blue dress, who then addressed a friendly smile and a happy expression at the sight of David and Killian, who, too, were surprised at first, but smiled at their turn. David lowered his sword and took a step.  
_ "Elsa?"


	7. A Smell of Fear and Death

Arendelle, The Enchanted Forest

After visiting Grand Pabbie and following his warning about the terrifying vision he had, Anna and Kristoff, trusting the wise troll, had decided to return to the city of Arendelle as soon as possible, galloping at high speed on their horses through the hills and forests, on the dirt paths bringing them back to the fjord.   
On the faces of Anna and Kristoff could be read like an open book all the fear and anxiety they could express following Pabbie's revelations about the vision. The city of Storybrooke gradually surrounded by mist and a mysterious monstrous army .... This mysterious young man dressed in black, carrying a fiery sword and sitting at the foot of a tree of infinite height ... and also this hooded shadow with red eyes, the same creature that had kidnapped Anna's daughter ... Pabbie had described with fear, a power so obscure that it should not exist today... All these thoughts never left Anna's mind, plunging her even more into uncertainty. Kristoff noticed this, and remained worried about her, but also about what would happen in the future. Raising his eyes towards the sky, he contemplated the sky more and more covered by dark clouds, and an increasingly cold wind rose from the north, making the pines tremble and crack.  
_ "A storm is approaching it seems ..." said Kristoff continuing to gallop. Anna didn't even answer, worrying too much.  
The couple quickly crossed the streets of the city, before the puzzled looks of the inhabitants. But upon arriving at the gates of the castle after the small bridge, Anna and Kristoff noticed that something was wrong when they saw the servant Kai running towards them, looking completely panicked.  
_ "Princess Anna! Princess Anna!!" repeated the servant on the verge of a nervous breakdown.  
_ "Kai, calm down! What's going on?" replied Anna, taking him by the shoulders to force him to calm down.  
_ "Come and see, princess! It's terrible!" Kai said with great insistence, asking the couple to go through the main gates. No sooner had they crossed the doors than the reason for this panic jumped on their faces. In the middle of the courtyard, lined up, around thirty bodies lay under sheets spattered with blood. All around them, the guards and servants remained horrified, remaining at a distance. Anna and Kristoff remained petrified with horror at this vision. Anna snuggled against Kristoff, horrified.  
_ "My god .... but what happened?!!" Kristoff asked in a trembling voice, unable to look away from the corpses, the size of which indicated young children.  
_ "During your absence, a patrol of guards returned. They told us that a village several leagues from here had been completely devastated. Out of the hundred inhabitants who lived there, they only found these thirty , all the other bodies disappeared without a trace."  
While Kai was explaining, Anna wanted to look under to one of the sheets to look below, but Kai immediately stopped her by holding her by the arm, despite her status as a servant.  
_ "No, princess! Believe me, you don't want to see that ...." said the servant, who in his eyes showed the horror he had seen when he saw these corpses. Anna swallowed in anguish and gave up looking.  
_ "What could have done that? Brigands? Or is it an attack from an enemy kingdom?" asked Anna, lost and anxious.  
_ "It's that Prince Hans again, I'm sure." said Kristoff with some anger. Kai, however, was not convinced by this response.  
_ "Believe me ... humans couldn't do that .... not with such savagery...."  
The servant's comment drew an extra shiver from Anna and Kristoff who looked at each other. Anna sighed heavily. She would like Elsa to be there. During this time, the daylight slowly began to decline to make way for the new twilight, under this sinister sky and this biting wind stronger and stronger. In the dark sky, groups of crows suddenly appeared and flying all over the city. Anna then froze. For a moment, in the wind blowing through her hair and into her ears, she thought she heard murmurs ... a floating and sinister voice, mumbling old Norse words...  
_"Did you heard?" asked Anna in a trembling voice.  
_"What?" Kristoff asked her, raising an eyebrow.  
_ "AAAAAAAAAAAAH!!"  
Everyone jumped in fear after the cry that echoed throughout the courtyard. One of the maidservants had taken several steps back, her hands in front of her mouth and her round eyes in limitless fright.  
_ "What's going on? Why are you shouting?!" Anna asked, her heart beating. The young servant, trembling like a leaf, then pointed her finger towards the center of the courtyard.  
_ "This .... this corpse .... it .... it moved!"

*************   
Storybrooke, our world

_ "He .... he is magnificent ..." Belle commented with a big smile as she contemplated the splendid silver pendant and encrusted with a small pearl that Gold held out to her in her hand with an insistent look. Belle took it delicately, admiring the beauty of the object and looked up again at her husband. "But why?"  
_ "Well, we have defeated the black fairy, we are together again, I though that a gift would be welcome, if it suits you of course." Gold replied with conviction as he walked behind the counter of his shop. Belle smiled at him and carefully kept the pendant in his hands.  
_ "Of course it suits me, Rumple." she said, coming to lean over the counter and kiss her lips.  
_ "In that case, can I?" he asked. She guessed right away and nodded with pleasure. Gold came behind her and put the pendant around her neck, in order to let all her beauty appear on its new owner. Belle went to the little mirror behind the counter and looked at herself with the jewel, finding it even more beautiful than before. Gold looked at his wife with a smile, also finding her even prettier.  
Suddenly, the bell at the entrance to the store was heard, drawing the attention of the couple who then saw Emma Swan enter and walk towards them, showing a somewhat serious and darkened face. Gold sighed softly.  
_ "Hello, Miss Swan. Judging by your attitude, you are not coming to make a purchase." said Gold, much less kind.  
_ "Emma, what's going on?" said Belle in her turn, joining her husband.  
_ "Believe me, if I come it's for good reason." Emma tells them sincerely. "I suppose you've heard about the mysterious series of murders striking the town for weeks?"  
_ "Who will not know?" said Gold "and I have to conclude that you suspect me, right?"  
_ "Not at all" Emma replied firmly "Belle confirmed to my mother what you were doing at the time of the last murder, and I trust Belle."  
Belle smiles at Emma to thank her silently.  
_ "Then what can I do for you?" Gold asked, keeping calm. Emma stepped forward and took out of her pocket several photos she had taken at the scene of the last murder. Putting them on the counter, she invited Gold and Belle to watch them. Seeing the photos of the suspended corpse, wearing a deer skull as a mask and the mutilated body covered with bloody runes, Belle covered her mouth in a movement of retreat.  
_ "My god, what horror ...." she sighed. Gold, however, remained calmer, although puzzled at what he was looking at. Emma then explained the situation.  
_ "It is the first corpse which carries this kind of drawings on the skin .... judging by its disposition, it is without any doubt a ritual ... whoever the murderer is, he's practicing black magic .... Gold, you are more qualified than anyone in terms of magic. Do you have any idea what it could be? Any clue, however small, could help me."  
Gold did not respond immediately, and kept his gaze on the photos, particularly the runes covering the body. He looked serious, even preoccupied. _ "Tell me what you want in exchange for this service, and ...." Emma began to speak, knowing Gold, but the latter with a wave of her hand ordered her to be silent, while continuing to watch the pictures. Emma and Belle looked at each other, puzzled.  
_ "Rumple?" asked Belle, worried, but her husband didn't even seem to hear her. Rumple, almost hesitant, put his palm on one of the photos and closed his eyes, as if to concentrate. A few seconds passed during which he grimaced more and more, his lips trembling, then his hands began to tremble. Gold suddenly opened his eyes, suddenly gasping and stepped back, worrying the two young women even more.  
_ "Rumple?!" said Belle, approaching him, seeing him worried and sweating. Never had she seen him like that.   
_ "Gold, did you see something? Tell me, whatever the price, I ...." Emma started to speak, but Gold interrupted her again and hurriedly walked backwards his shop.  
_ "Forget the price ..." he said in a somber voice "... I must absolutely check something. I will let you know of my discovery as soon as possible. Belle, come with me."  
_ "Check what? What discovery?" Emma insisted heavily, holding Rumple by the wrist. The latter looked at her with a look that she had never seen before on him. It was more than worry ... it was fear.  
_ "I am not sure, but it is better that I am wrong ...." said Gold "if ever I am right, Miss Swan, it's not only Storybrooke that is in danger, but all the worlds."  
Emma had a huge thrill in the spine when she heard it. And she felt it, he didn't lie. Without knowing what to answer, she let him go, seeing Belle join him. Not insisting, Emma started to head for the exit of the store when her walkie-talkie crackled and her father's voice was heard.  
_ "Emma .... Emma, can you hear me?"  
_ "Yes, I can hear you. Any news?"  
_ "Not really ..." replied David with a rather worried voice "... we were attacked in the forest by a creature, and several dwarfs are injured."  
_ "A creature? What kind of creature?" Emma asked, her heart beating.  
_ "I don't know at all, I've never seen anything like it ..." answered David frankly, which did not reassure Emma.  
_ "Are you okay? What about Killian?" asked the young woman in stress.  
_ "I'm fine, my beauty, reassure yourself, and your father too." replied Killian's voice. "It must be said that we have received miraculous help."  
Miraculous help? What could he be talking about?

***********   
Meanwhile....

After a relatively short night in this isolated motel, Mathias had continued on this country road for many hours, without meeting any car, or even meeting someone. To make matters worse, the weather did not seem to improve with these gray clouds gradually coming to mask the sun and the cold wind rising.  
Mathias was now driving on a straight road surrounded by a thick and dark forest. Looking on the integrated GPS on his phone, he checked and found that he was getting closer and closer to the destination indicated by the mysterious informant, the unknown city called Storybrooke. His doubts vanished when he saw a sign a little further on the side of the road, indicating the name of the city and the distance remaining to reach it.  
But as he went past the sign, the motorcycle was suddenly stopped and hit an invisible obstacle in the middle of the road. Mathias was thrown forward and rolled on the side, in the wet grass of the ditch.  
_ "Oh holy shit ...." groaned the young man half knocked as he rubbed the back of his head, checking that he was not bleeding and tried as best he could to get up. Going back on the road, he noticed the condition of his motorcycle, which was now in the middle of the road, smoking and completely crushed at the front, as if it had hit a wall.  
_ "Great ...." Mathias sighed in anger. But when he wanted to approach the motorcycle, he collided with an invisible wall which pushed him back a little. Amazed, Mathias thought he had dreamed and resisted touching with his hand. He gasped in surprise. He could feel it on his palm. There was a kind of barrier blocking him.  
_"What the....fuck?" Mathias sighed, completely perplexed. Was that .... magic? He was not hallucinating. This discovery plunged him into the most absolute uncertainty. Until now, he was convinced that he was the only one with a supernatural gift in this world. Could it be that others exist?  
He looked around, to see only the forest as far as the eye could see, as well as the sign indicating the distance remaining to reach Storybrooke. Recovering his bag from the ditch, Mathias picked up his cell phone, happily intact, and tried to call for a tow truck. Curiously, the phone made a curious sizzle.  
_ "No network, obviously .... getting better and better ..." Mathias sighed, even more annoyed. Seeing no other alternatives, he decided to continue the path on foot and started walking, bag on his back, on the side of the road, while a light rain was emerging over the region. Putting the hood of his black jacket on his head, looking moribund, Mathias hoped to find at least one garage in Storybrooke, but also to find the person he had come to look for. As he walked, he noticed that the weather seemed to be getting darker and darker, as well as a strange mist rising in the forest.

**********  
Meanwhile....

After going to Gold's store and receiving her father's disturbing call, Emma returned to her parents' home as quickly as possible. Running up the stairs and opening the door, she was immediately relieved to see David and Killian alive, who turned to her, as well as Mary Margaret carrying her son in her arms and seemed to be in discussion with them.  
_ "Dad .... Killian .... thank god, you're alive." Emma said relieved, coming to hug them one after the other.  
_ "It takes more than that to kill us, you know it." Killian commented with his confident smile, as usual, which made Emma smile.  
_ "We're fine. The injured dwarfs were taken by Grumpy to the hospital. Fortunately, there were no deaths." David said in turn, to which Mary Margaret came to support him by taking him by the hand. However, Emma could see the grave faces of her father and her boyfriend.  
_ "This thing that attacked us in the forest ..." said Killian, with an intimidated tone, as if he was afraid to speak about it "... it looked like one of the corpses that we found .... "  
The news gave Emma and Mary Margaret chills.  
_ "But it's absurd. No magic can bring the dead back to life." Killian tried to put things in perspective, more to reassure himself.  
_ "With black magic, you have to expect everything." replied David, less convinced by the pirate's words. Emma listened to them and stepped forward in turn.  
_ "Dad, you told me in the phone that you had received miraculous help...."  
David smiled at Emma and turned to Mary Margaret, who in turn smiled. Emma did not understand very well at the start ....  
_ "Hello, Emma."  
A familiar voice was heard. Emma turned to see then, with great surprise, the queen of Arendelle, Elsa, arriving from the living room and sending her an air of delighted to see her again. At first surprised on the spot, Emma could only smile in turn. The two young women hugged, happy to see each other again after all this time.  
_ "Elsa? But ... but what are you doing here?" said Emma after the hug, still in shock of the surprise.  
_ "Let's say that without her and her ice magic, we might not be alive today." Killian commented sincerely, thanking Elsa with a sincere nod. Emma also thanked the Snow Queen sincerely for saving them. However, Elsa's face quickly became serious as she joined the group around the dining room table.  
_ "Elsa? What's going on?" asked Mary Margaret, concerned.  
_ "In truth, if I came back to Storybrooke, it was to ask for your help." said the young queen. The others guessed it in her voice, she was desperate.  
_ "Whatever it is, we're ready to help you Elsa." David told her immediately, to which no one objected.  
_ "To begin ..... my sister, Anna, gave birth to a daughter ...." began Elsa, to which, Emma and the others were delighted for her, but stopped smiling very quickly at the continuation of the story "...unfortunately, the same evening, an evil creature entered the castle and kidnapped Anna's baby. Despite my powers, I could not do anything to stop it, it was far too powerful ... we searched again and again, but nothing ... Anna is completely wiped out, which I can't bear. I swore to find her daughter, but I couldn't do it alone."  
As she rehashed these painful memories and thinking of her sister, Elsa burst into tears, what Emma comforted her by hugging her gently. Mary Margaret was deeply affected by the story and came to support Elsa too, understanding better than anyone how Elsa and Anna could feel.  
_ "We will help you, Elsa, be sure. We will save your sister's baby." said Mary Margaret with conviction. David and Killian nodded immediately.  
_ "And we will make the culprit pay, believe me." Emma said in turn, looking Elsa in the eyes. The Queen of Arendelle thanked them one by one, knowing that she could count on them. But one question remained on Killian's lips.  
_ "Elsa, you said that an evil creature had kidnapped your sister's child. What kind of creature was it?"  
_ "I don't know ..." answered Elsa frankly, shrugging her shoulders "... she had no face and wore a long misty black coat ... she had two red eyes shining like flames and the the aura that emanated from her was of unlimited blackness, and literally smelled of death."  
_ "First, murders linked to black magic in Storybrooke, now a dark entity ... I don't like that, it is certainly not a coincidence." said David, the others seeming to agree with him.  
_ "Besides, Emma, what did Gold tell you? Does he know anything about the nature of this harmful magic?" asked Mary, turning to her daughter.  
_ "Yes, but he didn't want to tell me what it was. He wanted to check something first and he will tell us about his deduction."  
_ "It's not surprising on his part ..." retorted Killian bitterly "... we can't trust him."  
_ "No ..." Emma replied with conviction "... he was sincere, I saw him in his eyes. He was afraid."  
_ "The Dark One? Being afraid?" replied Killian, rather disconcerted by this news, but trusting Emma. The small group remained in doubt. If even the Dark One was worried about the nature of this dark magic, it really wasn't a good sign.  
_ "By the way ... where's Henry?" Emma asked, emerging from her thoughts. Mary said he was tired and went upstairs to rest. Emma went up the stairs to go see him, but was surprised not to find him, then, her heart jumped when she saw the window open. Very quickly, she went back down the steps.  
_ "Henry is gone!!"  
_"What?" replied Mary Margaret "But why would he do that?!"  
_ "He wanted to be useful ...." said Emma, feeling guilty for having forced him to stay "... he's surely with Regina."  
_ "Let's go get him." said Elsa to Emma. "If other creatures roam the forest, he and Regina are in great danger."

***********   
Meanwhile....

For several hours now in the vault, Regina and Henry had divided the task of rummaging through all the grimoires in order to find any clue about the nature of the black magic surrounding the ritual murders. Tired as the early evening approached, Henry rubbed his face, forcing himself to keep his eyes open and continued to flip through the pages of one of the books.  
But while Regina was reading, she suddenly froze, looking up and showing a more than surprised, worried face. Henry noticed it right away.  
_ "Mom, what's going on?!"  
Without a word, Regina ran to her mirror hanging on the wall and with a gesture of her hand, made her show the outside of the vault. What she feared was confirmed, as she had felt. Henry approached her and froze in fear. Outside, all around the vault, a thick cloak of mist slipped out of the forest, and from this mist advanced several humanoid forms armed with swords, their dirty bodies covered with bloody runes and carrying skulls of humans or of deer as heads. Encircling the vault and approaching slowly but surely, the creatures let emanate inhuman, monstrous voices, with incessant chants in the old Nordic language.  
_ "Oh no ...." sighed Regina with fear.


End file.
